Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANDREA KATZ
District 8 (Atlantic and Burlington)
Assemblywoman CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblywoman HEATHER SIMMONS
District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Drulis, Donlon, Peterpaul and Hall
SYNOPSIS
Protects access to assisted reproductive technology.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning assisted reproductive technology and amending P.L.2021, c.375.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.2021, c.375 (C.10:7-2) is amended to read as follows:
2. a. Every individual present in the State, including, but not limited to, an individual who is under State control or supervision, shall have the fundamental right to: choose or refuse contraception or sterilization; [and] choose whether to carry a pregnancy, to give birth, or to terminate a pregnancy; and choose whether to use assisted reproductive technology, including, but not limited to in vitro fertilization.
The New Jersey Constitution recognizes the fundamental nature of the right to reproductive choice, including the right to access contraception, to terminate a pregnancy, and to carry a pregnancy to term, shall not be abridged by any law, rule, regulation, ordinance, or order issued by any State, county, or local governmental authority. Any law, rule, regulation, ordinance, or order, in effect on or adopted after the effective date of this act, that is determined to have the effect of limiting the constitutional right to freedom of reproductive choice and that does not conform with the provisions and the express or implied purposes of this act, shall be deemed invalid and shall have no force or effect.
b. The provisions of this section shall be enforceable under the "New Jersey Civil Rights Act," P.L.2004, c.143 (C.10:6-1 et seq.) or in any other manner provided by law.
(cf: P.L.2021, c.375, s.2)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides every woman in this State the fundamental right to choose whether to use assisted reproductive technology (ART).
Under current law, the State provides the fundamental right to choose or refuse contraception or sterilization, or to choose whether to carry a pregnancy, to give birth, or to terminate a pregnancy. Under the bill, the fundamental rights related to reproductive health choice in the State are expanded to include the use of ART. ART includes, but is not limited to, in vitro fertilization (IVF).
This legislation is in response to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling in LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic, P.C. (Docket No. SC-2022-0515, SC-2022-0579), decided in February 2024. In LePage, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos are “extrauterine children,” finding that that the state’s “‘Wrongful Death of A Minor Act’ applies on its face to all unborn children, without limitation.” This holding could have widespread implications for anyone in Alabama who is seeking or provides IVF.
New Jersey has long been a State that supports, and provides protections for, the reproductive freedom of its citizens, including the right to make the choice of whether to start or expand a family through IVF.