Georgia Bill Would Increase Regulation Of In Vitro Fertilization Procedures

Georgia lawmakers have introduced a bill (S.B. 169) that would place restrictions on the number of embryos that could be implanted in a woman during an in vitro fertilization procedure, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bill "appears to be the most sweeping state legislation of its kind introduced in the wake of the case" of 33-year-old Los Angeles resident Nadya Suleman who gave birth to octuplets via IVF, the Journal reports. The bill, which is scheduled for a legislative hearing this week, would limit the number of embryos that may be implanted in women age 40 and older to three and limit the number to two for women ages 39 and younger. The bill would also make it illegal to create more embryos in one cycle than the number to be transferred.

The antiabortion-rights group Georgia Right To Life helped to draft the bill. The group seeks regulation that would treat embryos as human beings, the Journal reports. Daniel Becker, president of GRTL, said, "To us it's a human rights issue," adding that embryos should be legally protected as "living human beings and not as property." State Sen. Ralph Hudgens (R), one of the sponsors of the bill, said, "Nadya Suleman is going to cost the state of California millions of dollars over the years; the taxpayers are going to have to fund the 14 children she has," adding, "I don't want that to happen in Georgia."

According to the Journal, several IVF experts and scientists oppose the proposal, arguing that more than two or three embryos need to be implanted in some cases to achieve a pregnancy. The bill's limits would prevent women from freezing unused embryos for future procedures, they say. Sean Tipton, director of public affairs for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine -- a scientific organization that issues medical guidelines and standards for the infertility industry -- said supporters of the bill "don't understand the complicated medicine behind it." The society's guidelines urge doctors to limit the number of embryos implanted to two in women younger than age 35 and to no more than five for women older than age 40. The guidelines are not mandatory and can vary according to the condition of a woman's embryos and her individual diagnosis. Barbara Collura, executive director of Resolve -- a national infertility association based in McLean, Va. -- said, "It's the right of the person who has gone through this procedure to decide what they can do with those embryos, not their doctor, and certainly not the government" (McKay, Wall Street Journal, 3/3).


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