skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, January 20, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

UNH students confirm Gaza may have cost Harris the race; TikTok is back online after Trump pledged to restore it; Child poverty derails dream of MLK Jr; and future of sustainable aviation fuel in MT, U.S. depends on policy.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Tribal leaders press President Joe Biden on clemency for Leonard Peltier, Democrats celebrate the Equal Rights Amendment but ratification remains in question, and a new poll reveals Gaza may have cost VP Kamala Harris the presidency.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

"We can't eat gold," warn opponents of a proposed Alaskan gold mine who say salmon will be decimated. Ahead of what could be mass deportations, immigrants get training about their rights. And a national coalition grants money to keep local news afloat.

Alabama passes bills to protect IVF, but concerns remain

play audio
Play

Friday, March 1, 2024   

The Alabama House and Senate both passed bills this week that would help people resume in vitro fertilization and provide legal protections for providers and patients in certain cases.

Senate Bill 159 and its companion House Bill 237 passed swiftly despite debates surrounding immunity and personhood.

While this is a positive step that allows families to resume treatments, said Heidi Miller, development manager for the reproductive-justice group Yellowhammer Fund, they're still concerned with the limited timeframe offered by the bills, including the one sponsored by Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence.

"So, it just feels like a very limited solution to me, and that's our stance as an org, is that it feels like very much like a Band-Aid on open wounds," she said. "And so, that's how we've kind of been looking at those bills, because Sen. Melson's bill similarly would be repealed on April 1, 2025."

Both bills would apply retroactively and be automatically repealed next year, which Miller said could affect families again. This comes after IVF programs around the state stopped offering the service over concerns about legal consequences following a 8-1 state Supreme Court ruling. The court ruled that frozen embryos are protected by the state's Wrongful Death of a Minor Act that protects children, regardless of location.

Acknowledging the temporary nature of the bills, Miller argued that a short-term solution is insufficient for people seeking IVF treatments, which sometimes can take months or years. She said they're urging lawmakers to take further action to safeguard the accessibility of IVF.

"For us to get the constitutional amendment - the, quote, 'sanctity of life' constitutional amendment from 2018 - back for a re-vote in front of Alabama voters," she said, "because that would be the long-term solution that would really protect IVF access."

Unless the constitutional amendment is repealed, she said, it could supersede any other law or code, specifically where the term 'child' or 'minor child' is not defined. Miller said the Yellowhammer Fund has resources on its website for people who want to know more.

House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, is sponsoring two measures, including a constitutional amendment, to clarify that an extrauterine embryo should not be considered an "unborn life" or "unborn child."


get more stories like this via email

more stories
During the first half of 2024, more than 3,200 college students were arrested nationwide in protest of U.S. support for Israel's war in Gaza. including more than a dozen students at the University of New Hampshire. (Ahsan)

Social Issues

play sound

A new poll shows Vice President Kamala Harris' support for Israel's war in Gaza may have cost her the 2024 presidential election. Nearly 30% of the …


Social Issues

play sound

A group of University of Pennsylvania students got up close and personal with Keystone State voters recently as they studied solutions to bridging the…

Social Issues

play sound

New York and nationwide groups are cautiously optimistic about the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. Phase one involves a 42-day ceasefire and gradual …


Sustainable aviation fuel is a liquid fuel used in commercial aviation. It reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 80%, according to the International Air Transport Association. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Montana is a U.S. leader in the growing industry of sustainable aviation fuel. Experts in the field and in the agricultural sector hope to see new …

play sound

A new State of the Commonwealth report by Old Dominion University finds Virginia had a strong year in 2024. But researchers say challenges remain…

The PoliChic Engagement Fund helps Texas women get involved through civic engagement to impact public policy. (Jesse B/peopleimages.com/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As the second week of the Texas legislative session gets underway, advocates want women and young girls to pay attention to bills that could impact …

Social Issues

play sound

Today marks the nationally recognized birthday of the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It's a day for college students in Tennessee to …

Social Issues

play sound

John Park, mayor of Brookhaven, joined more than 250 mayors at the 93rd annual winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021