Iowa’s proposed fetal homicide law, which aimed to make amendments, has been put on hold following a Senate Republican’s expressed concerns about the potential consequences for in vitro fertilization. This comes after a court ruling in Alabama deemed frozen embryos as children.

The Senate decided not to contemplate the legislation, which was given the green light by the House last week.

The current law in Iowa includes consequences for ending or causing significant harm to a “human pregnancy.” The proposed bill aimed to alter this wording to focus on the death or severe injury of an “unborn person” from the time of conception until birth.

Lawmakers in Iowa and other states are currently reviewing numerous bills aimed at granting greater protection to embryos and fetuses. This is a key objective of the anti-abortion movement.

During the discussion of the bill prior to the vote, Skyler Wheeler, a Republican Representative from Iowa, stated that it just modifies the wording of the existing law. However, Democrats brought up a recent case in Alabama and cautioned that the new language could potentially impact embryos and potentially jeopardize a medical procedure used for aiding women in becoming pregnant.

Senator Brad Zaun, a Republican and chair of the Senate judiciary committee, chose not to assign the bill to a subcommittee. He cited concerns about the potential “unintended consequences” for IVF during a report to journalists.

Following the Senate’s decision on the bill, Representative Steven Holt, chair of the House judiciary committee, stated that they were not worried about IVF being jeopardized due to variations in the constitutions of Iowa and Alabama. However, Holt acknowledged the concerns and stated that it is a topic that will need to be discussed before taking any further actions in the future.

Alabama’s highest court declared that embryos should be treated equal to children and developing fetuses under the state’s law regarding wrongful death. This decision caused three major IVF providers in Alabama to temporarily halt their services out of fear of potential legal repercussions.

Elected officials in Alabama have taken steps to make it clear that providers of IVF are not liable for any harm or destruction of embryos.

Initially, Democratic Representative Jennifer Konfrst accused House Republicans of refusing to acknowledge the potential impact on IVF, something that Democrats had previously warned about

Democratic Representative Jennifer Konfrst was critical of House Republicans for denying the possibility of IVF being affected, despite previous warnings from Democrats.

“They were caught attempting to pass a bill that had consequences beyond what they claimed. They mocked our concerns and assured that it was not the case. Eventually, other members of the Republican party withdrew the bill, proving that our initial claims were accurate,” Konfrst expressed to journalists on Thursday. “This is a prime example of the negative side of political tactics.”