Georgia Democrats push for state laws protecting reproductive rights following Alabama court ruling

Carrie McNair of Mobile, Alabama holds a sign saying “You can’t cuddle an embryo” at a rally in support of in vitro fertilization access at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama on Feb. 28, 2024. The rally took place before scheduled committee hearings in the Alabama Legislature on legislation to protect IVF. A similar bill has been filed in Georgia. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

Georgia Democrats are pressing their Republican colleagues to protect access to in vitro fertilization after the Alabama Supreme Court recently ruled that fertilized eggs are children under that state’s law.

“Georgians need certainty to know that that level of terror will not be inflicted upon them,” said Sen. Elena Parent, an Atlanta Democrat who is the lead sponsor of the bill and the Senate minority caucus chair. 

“Probably right now there are couples here in Georgia questioning whether they should spend the money to embark on that journey knowing that that ability could be ripped from them at any time,” she said.