Two north Alabama lawmakers stepped up their legislative efforts in response to last week's Alabama Supreme Court ruling that recognized fetuses as essentially children.

House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) has introduced a “Defining Child” bill and state Sen. Tim Melson (R-Florence) would protect IVF and clarify when embryos are viable. He said he would submit a bill to do so.

Daniels' bill would “provide that under state law, a fertilized human egg or human embryo existing outside a human uterus is not considered a fetus or a human being for any purpose.” .

Melson's bill would not consider a human fetus outside the womb to be a “fetus, minor, natural person, or any other term connoting a human being for any purpose under state law.”

“We all know that pregnancy is the big debate of life,” says Melson. He told the Alabama Reflector.. “I won’t argue that point, but life doesn’t form until it’s in the womb.

“We've advanced so far in medicine that we now store embryos, sperm, and eggs for future use…It's potential life, not actual life.”

Melson also wants immunity from criminal liability for the disposal of embryos.

“…If a woman chooses not to use all of her frozen embryos, she should not be charged with abandonment or manslaughter,” he said. “If a woman has had two or three successful pregnancies and still has one, it's time to make sure she's not penalized for her success.”