Today, Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) announced priority legislation for the 2025 legislative session which protects access to in vitro fertilization (IVF). This legislation, sponsored by State Representative Lehman Franklin (R-Statesboro), codifies protections for IVF, ensuring that Georgians struggling with infertility will always have access to the treatment.
The bill establishes access to in vitro fertilization as a right under OCGA 31-1-26. The legislation first defines what IVF is – the process in which “oocytes are removed from a female’s ovary and, in an embryology laboratory, fertilized with a male’s sperm to form an embryo that begins development in such laboratory and is subsequently transferred to a female’s uterus or preserved for future use” – and the outlines that individuals “have the right to obtain in vitro fertilization.”
“Millions of Americans and Georgians are faced with infertility when they begin the journey to start or grow their families,” said Speaker of the House Jon Burns. “We know that IVF has allowed thousands of Georgians to achieve the dream of parenthood, and this legislation ensures that access to this life-changing medical assistance will never be a question in our state.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 percent of women face infertility. IVF has proven to be a safe and effective way to make the dream of having children possible for many of those women, and here in Georgia, more than 2,300 children were born through IVF in 2021 alone.
“I am honored to put forth this legislation that will preserve access to IVF which has provided countless Georgia families with the blessing of a child—including my own,” said Rep. Franklin. “My wife and I are overjoyed to be welcoming our first daughter later this year thanks to IVF. I want to ensure every family who faces the challenge of infertility has an opportunity to experience the miracle that IVF can provide.”
You can read the bill below.
