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Republican legislators have mothballed a bill that would allow Floridians to sue over the wrongful death of a fetus in the wake of an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos should be considered children, causing several clinics in the state to halt in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.
The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Erin Grall, requested a vote scheduled to be held Monday in the Florida Senate Rules Committee be postponed. In an emailed statement to the Tampa Bay Times, she explained, “Although I have worked diligently to respond to questions and concerns, I understand there is still work that needs to be done. It is important we get the policy right with an issue of this significance.”
When the bill, SB 476, was announced, opponents were quick to slam it as a step toward “fetal personhood,” a concept that puts pregnant women, abortion providers, and advocates for reproductive rights at legal risk.