Republican senators on Wednesday blocked swift passage of a bill that would establish federal protections for in vitro fertilization and other infertility treatments following an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos should be considered children. .
Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith has opposed approval of a bill that would establish federal rights to in vitro fertilization and infertility treatments, blocking that possibility for now.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., tried Wednesday to pass the bill under a procedure that allows one senator to object and block it, which would effectively encourage Republicans to oppose the issue. It highlighted divisions within the Republican Party over how to handle it. .
“The bill before us today is a massive overreach, filled with toxic overreach that goes far beyond ensuring legal access to IVF,” Ms. Hyde-Smith said on the Senate floor. He added that he supports access to fertilization. “This bill misses the point,” she said.
The law states that people have the right to “access assisted reproductive technology” without fear of prosecution, that doctors have the right to provide it, and that insurance companies have the right to cover it.
Democrats orchestrated the attempt to pass the bill in an attempt to point out the hypocrisy of Republicans who rushed to express support for in vitro fertilization after the Alabama decision. This is despite the fact that many Republicans have supported legislation that declares life begins at the moment of conception. Such a bill could significantly curtail or even outlaw aspects of treatment.
“This is really a rallying cry to my Republican colleagues,” Duckworth, who raised her two daughters through IVF, said in an interview Wednesday. “If this is urgent and you're serious about this, as you've said over the last 72 hours since the Alabama Supreme Court decision, then I don't object. Please pass this bill.'' She argued that the bill's protections have become even more important since the legal decision.
The case marks the latest political tightrope Republicans have tried to walk since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, making many Americans' fears of losing access to reproductive health care a reality. It's the latest example, made even more dangerous by the Alabama ruling. Democrats have vowed to hurt Republicans on the issue this election year, buoyed by polls showing access to abortion and contraception are major concerns for voters and could drive them away from Republicans.
“Make no mistake: What happened in Alabama is a direct result of the far-right MAGA Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York. the lawmaker said Tuesday. “And don't get me wrong, there will be other awful and restrictive decisions that come out of the Dobbs decision.”
Since the ruling, at least three healthcare providers in Alabama have suspended IVF treatments. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed in 2020 by a couple whose hospitalized patients removed frozen embryos from a tank of liquid nitrogen and dropped them on the floor, destroying them.
Duckworth previously tried to pass a similar bill unanimously in 2022, but Hyde-Smith opposed it. Before Wednesday's action, Mr. Duckworth said he would seek a roll call vote on the bill if Republicans block it, and Mr. Schumer said he would seek a roll call vote on the bill after Congress funds the government ahead of two shutdown deadlines. He said he was “very supportive” of holding a vote. This week and next week.
Some Republicans said they would consider the bill, but most others argued that protections for infertility treatment should be left to state legislatures, not the federal government. They sought to cast the Alabama ruling as an outlier and said the Alabama legislature would act soon to protect IVF.
“The Dobbs decision says abortion is not part of the Constitution and sends the issue back to the states. I think that's where it should be,” said Sen. John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana. He referred to the Supreme Court's decision that overturned the . “But I support fertility techniques.”
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, said he wants to see how each state approaches protections for in vitro fertilization before considering federal legislation.
“As states look at all the different issues surrounding this particular issue in particular, we're going to have different ideas about how to approach it,” Lowndes said Tuesday. “Personally, I think IVF should also be included as part of future discussions.”
Sen. Mike Braun, R-Indiana, said he believes the Alabama Legislature will pass protections for in vitro fertilization, making the federal law unnecessary.
Brown said of the Alabama decision: “Whether or not there's a need for federal law, I'm willing to look at whatever it is, but I mean, it was done in such an isolated way.” Told. He added that states would “battle” over whether frozen embryos are considered children.
In 2021, he co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act, which would recognize fertilized eggs as entitled to equal protection under the 14th Amendment, along with 15 other Republicans, including Kennedy, Rounds, and Brown. . If enacted, the bill could significantly limit in vitro fertilization treatments that typically involve creating multiple embryos. Only one is transplanted and the rest are frozen to allow subsequent successful transplants.
The same bill had 166 Republican co-sponsors in the House, including the current speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, who issued a statement Friday supporting IVF.
The bill was reintroduced in the House of Representatives in January 2023, but some Republicans who previously supported it (faced with tough redistricting races in districts won by President Biden in 2020) (including some members of Congress) have refrained from signing it again. It has not been reintroduced to the Senate.
Anti-abortion activists hailed Alabama's decision as a step towards broader acceptance of fetal sexuality, as Republicans seek to distance themselves from any suggestion that fertility treatments could be at risk.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Tuesday that Republicans are suddenly going to support IVF this weekend, even though many of those same Republicans are literally co-sponsors of legislation that would enshrine the personhood of fetuses right now. It's incredible to see them so excited.” “You can't support IVF or support fetal personhood laws. They're fundamentally incompatible. You're not fooling anyone.”
In the House, South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace circulated a nonbinding resolution Tuesday declaring support for access to in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments. However, this measure is purely symbolic and provides no protection either way.
Democrats said they would not hesitate to remind voters of the Republican Party's record on the issue, saying they believed it would drive moderate and independent voters away from the party.
“Women not only forget who is responsible for this, but who took away their dreams of starting a family,” Murray said. “This is what happens when Republican politicians take away power over women's bodies.”
Annie Carni Contributed to the report.
