Condemns Alabama Supreme Court ruling in LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic, P.C.

SR62

SENATE RESOLUTION No. 62

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 2, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� KRISTIN M. CORRADO

District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Condemns Alabama Supreme Court ruling in
LePage

v.
Mobile Infirmary Clinic, P.C.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

A Senate
Resolution

condemning the Alabama
Supreme Court ruling in
LePage
v.
Mobile Infirmary Clinic, P.C.

Whereas,

In the United States, one in six people of childbearing age struggle with
infertility and require some type of professional assistance in order to
conceive a child; and

Whereas,

Fortunately, 90 percent of infertility cases are treatable with medical
therapies including
drug treatment
,
surgery
, and
in vitro fertilization

(IVF); and

Whereas,

IVF
is a process whereby an
egg is removed from a person's body and combined with sperm inside a laboratory
for fertilization; the fertilized egg, called an embryo, is then transferred
into the uterus; and

Whereas,

In a recent decision,
LePage
v.
Mobile Infirmary Clinic, P.C.
,
the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos are �extrauterine children,� and
that the state�s ��Wrongful Death of A Minor Act� applies on its face to all
unborn children, without limitation;� and

Whereas,

The
LePage
holding had immediate widespread implications for anyone in
Alabama who seeks, or provides, IVF, resulting in the closure of IVF clinics
and halting of IVF services; and

Whereas,

Following the
LePage
holding, on March 6, 2024, Governor Kay Ellen Ivey
of Alabama signed into law S.B.159 to ensure criminal and civil immunity for
those administering or receiving IVF services; and

Whereas,

Following the
LePage
decision, a number of Republicans and Democrats criticized
the ruling, and expressed their support for IVF; and

Whereas,

Tammy Duckworth, a Democratic Senator from Illinois who utilized IVF to
conceive her two children, introduced S.3612 in order to protect the rights of
individuals to seek reproductive assistance, such as IVF, and the physicians
who provide these services, without the fear of prosecution; and

Whereas,

Senator Duckworth urged her Republican colleagues, as many initially denounced
the
LePage
ruling for the harmful precedent that the decision has set on
reproductive assistance services, to join the Democrats� efforts to protect
access to IVF by unanimously passing S.3612; and

Whereas,

New Jersey has long been a state that supports, and provides protections for,
the reproductive freedom of its citizens, including the right to make the
deeply personal choice of whether to start or expand a family through IVF; and

Whereas,

Following the United States Supreme Court decision in
Dobbs
v.
Jackson
Women�s Health Org.
, the United States Department of Health and Human
Services issued a proposed rule designed to protect those seeking access to
reproductive healthcare out-of-state when such access was criminalized
following the ruling; and

Whereas,

In stark contrast to actions taken in states to monitor private health
information, the New Jersey legislature has acted to protect private medical
information from prosecutors in other states, to ensure New Jersey law
enforcement will not take part in extraditions to people who have sought
reproductive health care that is legal in New Jersey, and to require the
creation of a website so people who are confused about recent court decisions
know what their freedoms are on reproductive health decisions in New Jersey;
and

Whereas,

Legislation enacted in January 2020 mandates health benefits coverage for
fertility preservation services under certain health insurance plans; and

Whereas,

In January 2024, legislation was enacted to make fertility services more
accessible and affordable by requiring certain private sector health insurers
which are regulated by the State to provide coverage for any services related
to infertility including, but not limited to, different types of IVF and embryo
transfers; and

Whereas,

It is in the public interest of the citizens of the State and this great nation
to condemn, in the strongest terms, any ruling or state or federal legislative
enactment that infringes on citizens� rights to have access to IVF and embryo
transfer; now, therefore,

����
Be It
Resolved
by the Senate of the State of New
Jersey:

���� 1.� This resolution condemns
the Alabama Supreme Court ruling in
LePage
v.
Mobile Infirmary
Clinic, P.C.
,
which jeopardized access to IVF and
embryo transfers.

���� 2.��� The resolution reaffirms
the New Jersey Legislature�s commitment to protecting its citizens�
reproductive freedom and full access to reproductive health care, including
IVF.

���� 3.��� Copies of this
resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the
Secretary of the Senate to each member of Congress elected from this State, the
New Jersey Commissioner of Health, and the Attorney General of the State of New
Jersey.

STATEMENT

���� This Senate Resolution
condemns the Alabama Supreme Court ruling in
LePage
v.
Mobile
Infirmary Clinic, P.C.
, which
jeopardizes access
reproductive health care services, including IVF and embryo transfers.
�