Mayes: IVF is legal in Arizona and 'my office will fight like hell to keep it that way'

Published: Wednesday, March 6, 2024 - 12:49pm

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Kris Mayes

Attorney General Kris Mayes issued an advisory today assuring Arizonans that in vitro fertilization is legal in the state.

Mayes issued the consumer advisory in response to concerns stemming from an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children. That decision prompted many IVF clinics in that state to pause operations over concerns doctors or patients could face legal repercussions.

That ruling has no impact in Arizona, but Mayes said it could lead to uncertainty given Arizona also has laws on the books that endow rights on the unborn.

“Despite the outrageous ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court last month that put the future of IVF treatment in doubt in that state, it remains legal in Arizona, and my office will fight like hell to keep it that way,” Mayes said in a press release.

Mayes says an Arizona law passed by Republicans in 2021 states that unborn children at all stages have the same rights as other people. But that law, which is on hold pending a court challenge, includes a caveat that it cannot be used to sue a person who lawfully performs IVF procedures.

Mayes called out Republicans in Congress for failing to pass legislation that would ensure IVF remains legal nationwide.