Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey Signs Legislation Protecting IVF Providers From Legal Liability Into Law

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation into law Wednesday shielding in vitro fertilization providers from potential legal liability raised by a court ruling that equated frozen embryos to children.

The decision by the Alabama Supreme Court last month raised concerns about civil liabilities for clinics and prompted an outcry from patients and other groups. Three major IVF providers paused services.

The new law protects providers from lawsuits and criminal prosecution for the “damage or death of an embryo” during IVF services.

Republicans in the state Legislature proposed the lawsuit immunity as a way to get clinics reopened. They refused, however, to take up a bill that would address the legal status of embryos.

The state’s three major IVF providers paused services after the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling last month.

The decision prompted an outcry from groups across the country. Patients in Alabama also shared stories about having upcoming embryo transfers abruptly canceled and their paths to parenthood put in doubt.

“I’m just elated to get these ladies back on schedule,” said Republican Sen. Tim Melson, the bill sponsor.

The state Supreme Court ruled that three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a storage facility could pursue wrongful death lawsuits for their “extrauterine children.” The ruling, treating an embryo the same as a child or gestating fetus under the wrongful death statute, raised concerns about civil liabilities for clinics.

Republicans in the GOP-dominated Alabama Legislature looked to the immunity proposal as a solution to clinics’ concerns. But they have shied away from proposals that would address the legal status of embryos created in IVF labs.

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