LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Governor Gretchen Whitmer is speaking out in support of a package of nine bills she says will make it easier for Michiganders to start a family.

The Michigan Family Protection Act is a package of bills that removes prohibitions surrounding surrogacy and supports parents who choose to go through in vitro fertilization (IVF).

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“The Michigan Family Protection Act makes several commonsense, long overdue changes to remove criminal prohibitions on surrogacy, protect families formed by IVF, and ensure LGBTQ+ parents are treated equally,” Whitmer said in a statement. “These changes will support parents in Michigan and guarantee that every child is treated equally and protected by the law, no matter how their parent chose to start a family.”

The move in Michigan’s House comes after Alabama’s Supreme Court declared that embryos are children. Until the legislature intervened, the decision halted care at three of the state’s largest IVF treatment providers.