With reproductive health care in jeopardy, Delaware looks to protect fertility services

Amanda Fries, Delaware News Journal
Updated ·3 min read

As reproductive health care rights across the nation are threatened, Delaware lawmakers have introduced legislation that would protect access to fertility treatments in the First State.

Delaware House Representative Kendra Johnson, House Speaker Valerie Longhurst and Sen. Nicole Poore filed House Bill 374 on Wednesday, which codifies legal protections for fertility treatment providers, protecting residents’ access to in-vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technologies.

A box of used needle injections one fertility treatment patient has used for IVF treatments.
A box of used needle injections one fertility treatment patient has used for IVF treatments.

“Without access to IVF, my two beautiful children would not be here today, so I know firsthand the immeasurable joy that these treatments bring to those who dream of starting or growing their families," Johnson said in a news release announcing the legislation. “The very personal decision to begin fertility treatments belongs in the hands of families and their doctors, not the government. This legislation will ensure that providers and hopeful parents are not punished simply for seeking to fulfill their dreams of parenthood.”

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, which protected a person’s right to abortion, more than a dozen states passed or attempted to pass fetal personhood bills, Delaware lawmakers pointed out in the news release.

MORE: Abortion is safe in Delaware, even if Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Here's why

The personhood bills give fetuses, and in some cases embryos, the legal rights of a person, making fertility treatments like IVF inaccessible or even illegal with threats of legal action against medical professionals should they provide such treatment.

How Delaware has protected reproductive health care

Delaware legislators say House Bill 374 builds on House Bill 455, which provides legal protections to providers of contraceptive and abortion services.

“Delaware has long been at the forefront of recognizing the importance of reproductive health care,” Longhurst said. “Several years ago, we passed legislation mandating health insurance coverage for IVF and fertility preservation measures and we have consistently championed policies that support all families on their journey to parenthood.”

Legislative Hall in Dover
Legislative Hall in Dover

Amid threats to bodily autonomy and reproductive health care, Delaware’s lawmakers have passed legislation to protect these rights and enshrined the right to abortions in 2017.

Delaware’s protections of these services have made it an attractive place for people seeking abortion to flock.

The First State likely saw its highest jump in legal abortions among East Coast states in the first half of 2023 compared with the same time period in 2020, according to data from The Guttmacher Institute.

RELATED: With Delaware abortion providers in demand post-Roe, new telehealth option may fill gaps

“At a time when the future of fertility treatments is so uncertain across the country, I commend Rep. Johnson for bringing this measure forward,” Longhurst said.

What the latest bill would do

Legislators said House Bill 374 would do the following:

  • Prohibits health care providers from disclosing communications and records concerning fertility services without the patient’s consent in “any civil action or proceeding, with some exceptions.”

  • Allows people who are sued in another state for “allegedly receiving or providing fertility treatment services that are legal in Delaware” to recover costs, damages, or attorney fees.

  • Clarifies that medical professionals who “perform, recommend, or provide legal fertility treatment” in Delaware aren’t subject to other states’ provider regulations.

  • Prohibits insurance companies from increasing premiums or taking “adverse actions” against providers and organizations that provide legal fertility treatment and services.

Poore said the bill will ensure that Delaware “never becomes subject to absurd legal interpretations” that could prevent parents from expanding or growing their families.

“This bill is very personal to me. As a mom who experienced infertility, I would have done anything to grow my family,” she said. “It is imperative that Delawareans who find themselves in the same position have options.”

The bill has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.

Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com. Follow her on X at @mandy_fries.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware lawmakers look to protect fertility treatments like IVF