Tennessee Senate passes bill to protect access to IVF

The Fertility Treatment and Contraceptive Protection Act passed unanimously in the Tennessee Senate and aims to protect access to IVF in the state.

The bill (SB0449/HB0533) was filed by Republicans Senator Becky Massey and Representative Iris Rudder received support from both Republican and Democrat senators. The bill aims to protect access to IVF and contraception in the state and clarify that access is not prohibited under existing state laws on abortion. A similar bill was rejected last year.

'I am very pleased by the unanimous passage of SB0449,' Senator Massey told WVLT News. 'I would like to emphasise that this bill does not mandate coverage or create an entitlement for fertility treatment or contraceptives.'

Following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade in 2022, Tennessee introduced a restrictive abortion ban. This prompted concerns that access to IVF in the state could be restricted if legal protections were interpreted as extending to embryos, as in Alabama (see BioNews 1228). Since then, both parties have attempted to introduce bills to clarify the law on IVF in Tennessee. This is the first to pass the Senate.

An amendment to the bill clarified that it will not prohibit lawmakers from regulating fertility treatment, leaving the door open for state regulations to be introduced in future.

Another bill was introduced by Republican Representative Ryan Williams, but voted down in the Tennessee House's Population Health Subcommittee. The bill would have imposed limits on the number of embryos a person could store at any given time, and restricted access to genetic testing on those embryos.

'There is no desire in my heart or in this legislation to prohibit IVF,' Representative Williams said, according to the Tennessean. 'My concern is that without state guidance and licensure, what happened in Alabama might happen in Tennessee where the courts decide and interpret statutes based on courts and not based on their legislative bodies.'

Fertility advocate Mollie Walker told the subcommittee in her testimony: 'This amendment, while well-intentioned, introduces restrictions that could limit access to IVF and place unnecessary burdens on patients and providers.'

The issue of how IVF should be regulated in the USA following the overturning of Roe v Wade, has been the subject of widespread debate. Multiple bills have been introduced by both Republican and Democrat senators, aiming to clarify and protect access to fertility treatment at federal level, but have failed to pass the senate (see BioNews 1243).

'It's going to be a trade-off. I mean if you want regulations, then you have to accept that certain treatments may not be accessible anymore,' Dr John Gordon, a fertility specialist in Knoxville, Tennessee, told WVLT News. 'I think that as we rustle with them, as a state and as a country, I think it's important to be open and understand that all voices should be heard when trying to figure out what is the right path forward.'

The bill is scheduled to be heard in the Health House Committee on 25 March 2025.