Democrats propose new bills to protect access to IVF, contraception for women

ATLANTA — Democrats are racing against the clock as they dropped two bills to protect women’s access to both in vitro fertilization and contraception.

They do not want what happened in Alabama to happen here.

Channel 2′s Richard Elliot has learned that it is becoming an election issue.

One bill would protect access to in-vitro fertilization. The other access to contraceptives.

But Thursday is Crossover Day, so there’s not much time to get the bills through.

At a Wednesday morning news conference, Atlanta Democratic state Sen. Elena Parent announced she was dropping the bills.

“Alarm bells are sounding around the country,” Parent said. “I am very concerned though that our Republican colleagues here at the state Senate simply do not agree about what we view to be fundamental rights to family planning that are the standard of medical care.”

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This all stems from the controversy in Alabama where its Supreme Court ruled frozen embryos are children, forcing many in-vitro fertilization clinics around that state to halt IVF procedures over fear their doctors could be prosecuted if they destroy unused embryos.

But Parent dropped the bills the day before Crossover Day, leaving precious little time for the Senate to pass them and send them over to the House.

She said they may have to try to tack them onto existing healthcare legislation later in the session.

Smyrna Democrat Teri Anulewicz worries that someone could interpret the state’s current heartbeat abortion law in a way that what happened in Alabama could happen here.

“This is about controlling women, and one of the best ways you can control women is by controlling their bodily autonomy,” Anulewicz said.

Elliot reached out to a number of top Republicans in the House and Senate for comment on this story, but none responded.

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Ga. Democrats drop 2 bills on women's health at State Capitol

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