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Should IVF Be Protected?
Liberty Surveys
March 13, 2024
Should IVF Be Protected?
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Here’s the Scoop
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has signed a bill granting immunity from criminal prosecution to medical professionals who freeze embryos for fertility treatments. This comes after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created during in vitro fertilization (IVF) were “children,” causing multiple clinics to shut down due to prosecution concerns.
Ivey stated, “IVF is a complex issue, no doubt, and I anticipate there will be more work to come, but right now, I am confident that this legislation will provide the assurances our IVF clinics need and will lead them to resume services immediately.”
The new law prohibits any “action, suit, or criminal prosecution for the damage to or death of an embryo,” but does not address the state Supreme Court’s assertion that embryos have personhood. It will also apply retroactively, protecting providers who performed or participated in IVF services prior to the bill’s adoption.
However, some activists feel the legislation doesn’t go far enough. Barbara Collura, the president of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, expressed concerns that the bill didn’t “address the underlying issue of the status of embryos as part of the IVF process.”
Political analysts warn that the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision may hurt Republicans’ chances in November, with some members of the party remaining silent on the issue.
Stan Barnes, a political consultant and former Republican state senator in Arizona, said, “When a state, any state, takes an aggressive action on this particular topic, people are once again made aware of it, and many think: ‘Maybe I can’t support a Republican in the general election.'”
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