Bill > A4191

Introduced Session

This bill provides every woman in this State the fundamental right to choose whether to use assisted reproductive technology (ART). Under current law, the State provides the fundamental right to choose or refuse contraception or sterilization, or to choose whether to carry a pregnancy, to give birth, or to terminate a pregnancy. Under the bill, the fundamental rights related to reproductive health choice in the State are expanded to include the use of ART. ART includes, but is not limited to, in vitro fertilization (IVF). This legislation is in response to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling in LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic, P.C. (Docket No. SC-2022-0515, SC-2022-0579), decided in February 2024. In LePage, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos are "extrauterine children," finding that that the state's "'Wrongful Death of A Minor Act' applies on its face to all unborn children, without limitation." This holding could have widespread implications for anyone in Alabama who is seeking or provides IVF. New Jersey has long been a State that supports, and provides protections for, the reproductive freedom of its citizens, including the right to make the choice of whether to start or expand a family through IVF.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Andrea Katz (D)*,  Carol Murphy (D)*,  Heather Simmons (D)*,  Rosaura Bagolie (D),  Alixon Collazos-Gill (D),  Herbert Conaway (D),  Margie Donlon (D),  Mitchelle Drulis (D),  Garnet Hall (D),  Robert Karabinchak (D),  Pam Lampitt (D),  Cody Miller (D),  Ellen Park (D),  Luanne Peterpaul (D),  Jessica Ramirez (D),  Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D),  William Sampson (D),  Shanique Speight (D),  Lisa Swain (D),  Chris Tully (D), 

Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee (on 09/19/2024)

Official Document