Alabama lawmaker files 'definition of a child' bill after state court IVF ruling
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An Alabama House Democrat has filed a bill that would not allow any fertilized human embryo or egg to be considered an unborn child, and similar legislation could follow from a Republican state senator.
The "definition of a child" bill, HB 225, was filed by state Rep. Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville. Daniels filed the bill after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos have the same legal rights as a child.
The ruling raised concerns for many seeking in vitro fertilization. It also caused worry for clinics who offer the procedure. Three IVF providers in the state, including the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System and Alabama Fertility have temporarily halted all IVF procedures and treatments in reaction to the ruling.
More: Women reconsider IVF plans as fertility practices across Alabama pause procedures
Sen. Tim Melson, R-Lauderdale/Limestone County, said he would also be filing a bill on the matter. "We've advanced so far in medicine that now we're storing embryos and sperm and eggs for future use," Melson said, saying that "it's potential life, not actual life."
More: 'Outrageous and unacceptable': President Biden issues statement on Alabama IVF ruling
Melson also said that no one should be charged for deciding not to use eggs they already had frozen.
"I'm not trying to say that devalues the sanctity of life or anything like that," he said. Melson added that there should be an alternative that would not hold criminal liability.
Barbara Collura, the president and CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, issued a statement late Thursday expressing optimism about proposed legislation.
"The multiple bills proposed by Alabama lawmakers to safeguard IVF are important developments in the process to restore IVF in the state, which has been largely suspended since the Supreme Court’s ruling last week," Collura said. "As we do in all 50 states, we will evaluate all legislation, the impact it will have on access to care, and the most effective next steps.
"We have heard from countless distraught would-be parents over the past several days — the devastation wrought from this ruling is incalculable.”
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama lawmaker files bill clarifying that embryos are not children
