Bill Text: NJ AR125 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Condemns Alabama Supreme Court ruling in LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic, P.C.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-04 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee [AR125 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-AR125-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman AL BARLAS
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Condemns Alabama Supreme Court ruling in LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic, P.C.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution condemning the Alabama Supreme Court ruling in LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic, P.C.
Whereas, In the United States, one in six people of childbearing age struggle with infertility and require some type of professional assistance in order to conceive a child; and
Whereas, Fortunately, 90 percent of infertility cases are treatable with medical therapies including drug treatment, surgery, and in vitro fertilization (IVF); and
Whereas, IVF is a process whereby an egg is removed from a person's body and combined with sperm inside a laboratory for fertilization; the fertilized egg, called an embryo, is then transferred into the uterus; and
Whereas, In a recent decision, LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic, P.C., the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos are "extrauterine children," and that the state's "'Wrongful Death of A Minor Act' applies on its face to all unborn children, without limitation;" and
Whereas, The LePage holding had immediate widespread implications for anyone in Alabama who seeks, or provides, IVF, resulting in the closure of IVF clinics and halting of IVF services; and
Whereas, Following the LePage holding, on March 6, 2024, Governor Kay Ellen Ivey of Alabama signed into law S.B.159 to ensure criminal and civil immunity for those administering or receiving IVF services; and
Whereas, Following the LePage decision, a number of Republicans and Democrats criticized the ruling, and expressed their support for IVF; and
Whereas, Tammy Duckworth, a Democratic Senator from Illinois who utilized IVF to conceive her two children, introduced S.3612 in order to protect the rights of individuals to seek reproductive assistance, such as IVF, and the physicians who provide these services, without the fear of prosecution; and
Whereas, Senator Duckworth urged her Republican colleagues, as many initially denounced the LePage ruling for the harmful precedent that the decision has set on reproductive assistance services, to join the Democrats' efforts to protect access to IVF by unanimously passing S.3612; and
Whereas, 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 deeply personal choice of whether to start or expand a family through IVF; and
Whereas, Following the United States Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org., the United States Department of Health and Human Services issued a proposed rule designed to protect those seeking access to reproductive healthcare out-of-state when such access was criminalized following the ruling; and
Whereas, In stark contrast to actions taken in states to monitor private health information, the New Jersey legislature has acted to protect private medical information from prosecutors in other states, to ensure New Jersey law enforcement will not take part in extraditions to people who have sought reproductive health care that is legal in New Jersey, and to require the creation of a website so people who are confused about recent court decisions know what their freedoms are on reproductive health decisions in New Jersey; and
Whereas, Legislation enacted in January 2020 mandates health benefits coverage for fertility preservation services under certain health insurance plans; and
Whereas, In January 2024, legislation was enacted to make fertility services more accessible and affordable by requiring certain private sector health insurers which are regulated by the State to provide coverage for any services related to infertility including, but not limited to, different types of IVF and embryo transfers; and
Whereas, It is in the public interest of the citizens of the State and this great nation to condemn, in the strongest terms, any ruling or state or federal legislative enactment that infringes on citizens' rights to have access to IVF and embryo transfer; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This resolution condemns the Alabama Supreme Court ruling in LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic, P.C., which jeopardized access to IVF and embryo transfers.
2. The resolution reaffirms the New Jersey Legislature's commitment to protecting its citizens' reproductive freedom and full access to reproductive health care, including IVF.
3. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to each member of Congress elected from this State, the New Jersey Commissioner of Health, and the Attorney General of the State of New Jersey.
STATEMENT
This Assembly Resolution condemns the Alabama Supreme Court ruling in LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic, P.C., which jeopardizes access reproductive health care services, including IVF and embryo transfers.
