A bill that would have protected the practice of IVF in Louisiana failed to make it out of a Senate committee hearing Tuesday.
State Sen. Thomas Pressly, a “pro-life” Republican, introduced the bill to protect access to IVF.
The bill stalled after lawmakers started debating whether to strike a definition of a human embryo as a “human being.”
Attorney Katie Bliss said that language could leave IVF providers open to criminal charges. In Alabama, after the state Supreme Court ruled that embryos are legally considered human beings, IVF clinics temporarily shut down to avoid potential criminal charges, like murder, if a fertilized embryo were accidentally destroyed.
Meanwhile, State Sen. Brach Myers (R-Lafayette), passed his first bill in the upper chamber Tuesday. His legislation exempts fentanyl test strips from drug paraphernalia laws.
With your Capitol Access Minute, I’m Brooke Thorington in Baton Rouge.
