Georgia Democrats announced they’ll introduce similar bills in both legislative chambers designed to protect access to contraception and in vitro fertilization (IVF). Wednesday morning, state Senator Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, announced her bills Senate Bill 564, titled “The Right to Contraception Act” and Senate Bill 565, titled “The Right to IVF Act.”
Concurrently, state Rep. Marvin Lim, a Democrat from Norcross and state Rep. Teri Anulewicz, a Democrat from Smyrna, has filed a bill, House Bill 1424 with the same intentions as state Senator Parent’s bill.
The Democrats have filed these bills due to the Alabama Supreme Court decision on IVF. On February 16th, the Alabama Supreme Court declared that embryos created through IVF should be considered children, according to the application of Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act.
With respect to the IVF process, when frozen embryos are thawed and prepared for transfer into the uterus, there is a small chance that they may be damaged or destroyed and therefore unable to be successfully transferred. Even fresh embryos could be damaged and not able to be transferred. It’s part of the risks related to IVF.
Yet, the decision by Alabama Supreme Court has now placed the onus on IVF providers. They now fear they or their patients could face legal penalties if they discard any embryos if unused. Chief Justice Tom Parker stated in a sacrosanct fashion in the decision, “Human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God.”
With that as a backdrop, state Senator Parent is confident these bills were not filed with the intent to scare people. Her legislation is designed to ensure frozen embryos cannot be defined as people.
“The Right to IVF act will codify that a human egg or fertilized human embryo outside of a human uterus is not considered a child or minor under state law, or for any purpose,” explains Parent. “And the truth is, I filed these bills not out of a sense of hysteria or to score political points.
Our neighboring state has taken radical action that has thrown family planning efforts at thousands of couples in Alabama, who are desperately seeking the opportunity to be parents, potentially crushing their dreams of being able to be Moms, be able to be dads and have children to add to their family.”
Everyone admitted the clock is ticking because Crossover Day is Thursday, the final day for bills to pass out of one chamber and be taken up by the other. It is possible the language in both bills could be added into other healthcare legislation if the bills don’t pass as stand-alone options.
“Our code is riddled with all kinds of places where there are question marks,” says Anulewicz. “And therefore we need this strong, very clear, very simple statement that embryos outside of the uterus are not children.”
Since July 2022, voters in California, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, Michigan, Ohio, and Vermont have affirmed the right to an abortion and overall reproductive care. Recently, state Reps. Shea Roberts and Kim Schofield have introduced bills that would create similar ballot measures here in Georgia. If either bill passes, the question regarding the right to an abortion would be put to Georgia voters in November.
“They [the voters] have no problem with contraception because so many people know that contraception is health care,” explained Anulewicz. “I take the pill right now not because I’m trying not to have babies. That ship has long since sailed. But because I’m in perimenopause … and ladies: it’s awful, it’s awful. So if I can try to control some of the things my body is doing with contraception, I am going to take advantage of that opportunity because science is a miracle.”