Lawmakers in the Senate passed a bill to maintain access to in vitro fertilization after a court ruling in Alabama jeopardized the fertility treatment in that state earlier this year.
The bill aims to protect IVF providers from civil and criminal liability, but it still allows for lawsuits in cases of gross negligence.
Lawmakers changed the bill to say that embryos cannot be transferred out of state for the purposes of being destroyed — a change critics say is unconstitutional.
The bill passed with a 36-1 vote and heads back to the House for review of the changes.
Lawmakers in the Senate also gave final approval to a bill that would ban ranked-choice voting, a method that is not currently used in Louisiana. The bill heads next to Gov. Jeff Landry’s desk.
