Alabama Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday signed into law legislation to protect healthcare providers from civil and criminal liability in the wake of the state’s Supreme Court court ruling that frozen embryos are considered children.
The swift signing of the short-term bill facilitates the continuation of in-vitro fertilization services, some of which were halted after the Feb. 16 decision that meant anyone who destroyed embryos could be liable for wrongful death. The ruling had put Alabama patients and IVF providers in legal limbo and triggered concerns that it paves the way for other states to impose similar measures.
