Georgia bill to codify IVF heads to governor after getting overwhelming
support in both chambers
[March 28, 2025]
By CHARLOTTE KRAMON
ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia bill to codify the right to in vitro
fertilization got overwhelming approval from the state Senate Thursday,
setting it up to move to Gov. Brian Kemp's desk for his signature.
The House approved it last month, and the chamber will likely approve
the final version Friday.
Republican Rep. Lehman Franklin drew bipartisan support for his bill,
which he introduced in part over concerns about access to the treatment
after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled last year that frozen embryos can
be considered children under state law. After multiple rounds of IVF and
a plan to adopt fell through, Franklin and his wife Lorie were finally
able to conceive using the treatment. They're expecting a baby girl this
summer.
“We wanted to find the language to safeguard it so we didn't have any
kind of experience that other states might have had in the past,”
Franklin said in an interview. “We want to get ahead of the game and
make sure that we're safe."
Lorie Franklin joined her husband in the House and Senate when each
chamber voted on the bill.
Some conservatives are skeptical of IVF because some embryos are
discarded in the process. Franklin said floating concerns are “satellite
issues that are worthy of debate," that could be addressed separately.
Legal experts say Georgia's current law does not pose a significant
threat to IVF the way Alabama's constitution did.
A handful of states have “personhood” laws, which give rights to
fertilized eggs, embryos or fetuses. Georgia's personhood law defines a
fetus as a person and is one of the broadest, giving rights such as tax
breaks and child support to unborn children.
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Lab staff prepare small petri dishes, each holding several 1-7 day
old embryos, for cells to be extracted from each embryo to test for
viability at the Aspire Houston Fertility Institute in vitro
fertilization lab Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Houston. (AP
Photo/Michael Wyke, File)
 But the Alabama ruling relied on the
wording of the state's wrongful death statute and language added to
the Alabama Constitution in 2018 protecting the “rights of the
unborn children.” After the ruling, Alabama's governor signed
legislation protecting IVF providers from legal liability.
Still, the bill's passage comes a day after a hearing on House Bill
441 that would make most abortions a homicide and recognize fetuses
as people from the point of fertilization. House Republican sponsors
of that bill voted in favor of Franklin’s bill protecting IVF
access. But doctors told the committee the bill would bar access to
IVF.
“Ultimately, I don’t think they’re going to be able to go all the
way with personhood and simultaneously protect IVF the way they want
to,” said Duke University law professor Jolynn Dellinger in an
interview last month, referring to those who want to push the laws
defining personhood further.
For now, though, IVF access will remain protected in Georgia.
President Donald Trump has also affirmed his support for IVF access,
including through an executive order aiming to reduce its cost.
Republican House Speaker Jon Burns made the bill to protect IVF a
priority this session.
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