In vitro fertilization’s future in Iowa will not face legal uncertainty after all — at least for the moment.
A legislative proposal from Statehouse Republicans to increase criminal penalties when an individual causes the termination of a pregnancy without the mother’s consent — a proposal that also amended state law in a way that critics warned would endanger fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization — will no longer be considered by state lawmakers this year, a key legislator said Wednesday.
Sen. Brad Zaun, a Republican from Urbandale and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he did not advance the legislation specifically because of questions about its potential impact on in vitro fertilization.
“I would say this: there was some definite concerns about in vitro fertilization and the negative effects and unintended consequences with that (bill), and that was very problematic for myself,” Zaun told reporters after Wednesday’s committee meeting. “And so that’s why I pulled the bill.”
With that action, the bill essentially is ineligible for consideration for the remainder of the 2024 legislative session. However, legislative leaders in the majority party — which in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature is Republicans — have tools and tricks at their disposal to resurrect any “dead” bills if they choose.
In vitro fertilization is a fertility treatment by which a woman’s egg is combined with a man’s sperm in a medical lab, and then planting those embryos in the women’s uterus.
Critics have warned the proposed legislation could have made IVF illegal because as part of the process, extra embryos are sometimes frozen, stored or discarded. They argued the bill does not sufficiently exempt fertility treatments.
Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, talks May 22, 2022, with House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl, right, at his desk in the Iowa House chambers at the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
During debate in the Iowa House, Republicans insisted the bill, House File 2575, would not impact fertility treatments, and that its focus specifically was on the crime of nonconsensual termination of a pregnancy. The bill passed out of the House on a 58-36 vote, with only Republicans supporting it
On Wednesday, Rep. Steve Holt, a Republican from Denison who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters that House Republicans believed the bill would not have impacted fertility treatments, and that comparisons to issues that have arisen after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling in that state are not applicable to Iowa because of differences in the states’ constitutions.
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. Alabama legislators, facing push back after treatments were stopped at some of that state’s largest fertility clinics, rushed pass a bill this month shielding doctors from legal liability because of the court opinion.
Holt said that he understood the concerns raised about the Iowa bill’s potential impact.
“I understand the concerns about IVF,” Holt said. “We did not necessarily believe that there was an issue related to IVF, but I understand the concerns there. …
“I believe life begins at conception. I also think we have to come to terms with how we’re going to deal with the IVF issue. So I understand the concerns there.”
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A legislative proposal from Statehouse Republicans to increase criminal penalties when an individual causes the termination of a pregnancy without the mother’s consent — a proposal that also amended state law in a way that critics warned would endanger fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization — will no longer be considered by state lawmakers this year, a key legislator said Wednesday.
Sen. Brad Zaun, a Republican from Urbandale and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he did not advance the legislation specifically because of questions about its potential impact on in vitro fertilization.
“I would say this: there was some definite concerns about in vitro fertilization and the negative effects and unintended consequences with that (bill), and that was very problematic for myself,” Zaun told reporters after Wednesday’s committee meeting. “And so that’s why I pulled the bill.”
With that action, the bill essentially is ineligible for consideration for the remainder of the 2024 legislative session. However, legislative leaders in the majority party — which in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature is Republicans — have tools and tricks at their disposal to resurrect any “dead” bills if they choose.
In vitro fertilization is a fertility treatment by which a woman’s egg is combined with a man’s sperm in a medical lab, and then planting those embryos in the women’s uterus.
Critics have warned the proposed legislation could have made IVF illegal because as part of the process, extra embryos are sometimes frozen, stored or discarded. They argued the bill does not sufficiently exempt fertility treatments.
During debate in the Iowa House, Republicans insisted the bill, House File 2575, would not impact fertility treatments, and that its focus specifically was on the crime of nonconsensual termination of a pregnancy. The bill passed out of the House on a 58-36 vote, with only Republicans supporting it
On Wednesday, Rep. Steve Holt, a Republican from Denison who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters that House Republicans believed the bill would not have impacted fertility treatments, and that comparisons to issues that have arisen after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling in that state are not applicable to Iowa because of differences in the states’ constitutions.
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. Alabama legislators, facing push back after treatments were stopped at some of that state’s largest fertility clinics, rushed pass a bill this month shielding doctors from legal liability because of the court opinion.
Holt said that he understood the concerns raised about the Iowa bill’s potential impact.
“I understand the concerns about IVF,” Holt said. “We did not necessarily believe that there was an issue related to IVF, but I understand the concerns there. …
“I believe life begins at conception. I also think we have to come to terms with how we’re going to deal with the IVF issue. So I understand the concerns there.”
Bill that some argued would threaten fertility treatments in Iowa shelved by Republican legislator
GOP Sen. Brad Zaun said he stopped the bill, which was approved by House Republicans, over concerns it would threaten the legality of in vitro fertilization
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