Legislation intended to give in vitro fertilization clinics some legal protection moved closer to becoming law on Tuesday when Senate and House committees approved identical bills.

Committee approval puts the bills in position for possible final passage on Wednesday.

The bills are intended to allow IVF clinics to resume services after a Feb. 16 Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos held in storage have the same legal standing as children for the purposes of liability under Alabama’s wrongful death law. Several clinics have paused operations because of the legal risk.

Families, doctors and advocates rallied and filled hallways and committee rooms at the State House last week urging lawmakers to find a solution. The House and Senate responded by passing similar bills last week. The bills were amended in committee Tuesday to make them identical.

Sponsors of the legislation said it is intended to be an immediate fix to allow clinics to reopen but that they expect lawmakers to study the issues to see if more legislation is needed in the long term.

Dr. Janet Bouknight of Alabama Fertility clinic said Tuesday that bills that came out of committee would provide the assurances the clinic needs to resume services.

“As currently drafted, this gets us back to taking care of our patients,” Bouknight said.

Bouknight, who said she has been working in the fertility practice for 15 years, said the last few weeks have been hard. She said it has been touching hearing patients come to the State House and share their private stories about their struggles with infertility.

“Our work is to help people have a family,” Bouknight said. “And I am very hopeful that by the end of this week we’ll be back to being doctors. And our team is just motivated to providing the good care that we have done for all of the past years.”