The Alabama Legislature passed a Republican-sponsored bill on Thursday. give legal protection The embryo was sent to an IVF clinic following a state Supreme Court ruling that declared it a child.
Senate Bill 159 Provides for “civil and criminal immunity of persons or entities for death or damage to embryos when providing or receiving goods or services related to in vitro fertilization.”
“This provision is intended to apply retrospectively,” the proposed bill states.
House Bill 237 Similarly, it provides that “no suit, proceeding, or criminal prosecution for damage to or death of embryos shall be instituted or maintained against any person or entity when providing or receiving goods or services related to in vitro fertilization.” Masu.
Despite opposition from both sides, the bill passed the House and Senate with bipartisan support.
Democrats expressed concern that the law did not clarify whether embryos produced through in vitro fertilization should be treated as children. NBC News report. Additionally, both parties questioned whether the “exemptions” provided by the bill were too broad and would not protect women injured during IVF treatment.
The Alabama House and Senate must vote on a unified version of the bill before it can be sent to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk for her signature. Congress is scheduled to vote on the legal protections on Wednesday. After a unanimous vote, Ivey plans to sign the bill into law.
Democratic Rep. Adline Clark said “key parts” of the bill were “still missing.”
HB 237’s lead sponsor, Republican Rep. Terry Collins, said the bill was created as a stopgap measure to allow IVF clinics, some of which were abruptly closed in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, to reopen. .
“We want our clinics to be open,” Collins said. “That’s what this is trying to accomplish.”
Jaylen Black, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Southeast, blamed lawmakers for failing to address the larger issue of the Supreme Court’s decision.
Black told NBC News, “These bills are intended to establish legal protections for IVF donors, but the recent changes to the classification of embryos produced through IVF as ‘minor children’ “To address the full scope of the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision, it is important to recognize its limited effectiveness.” “”
Last month, at several clinics in Alabama. Temporary suspension of IVF treatment It follows a court ruling over concerns that patients and staff could face criminal charges and damages.
Recently, U.S. Representative Nancy Mace (R.S.C.) introduced a resolution This is to “protect in vitro fertilization.” The proposed bill condemns “any judicial decision that results in the restriction of access to infertility treatment.” The current bill includes: 6 co-sponsorsall Republicans.
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