Senate Republicans have yet to block a bill to protect in vitro fertilization (IVF).
The Right to IVF Act, which is controlled by a group of Democrats, will not be voted on by the US Senate because almost all members of the GOP voted to block cloture – that is, to vote to end the debate – on the legislation.
“This is a very sad day for the millions of Americans who want to become parents but struggle with infertility,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the vote. “Today, almost every Republican just blocks a bill that would protect people’s access to IVF.”
“Now the hard right has completely eliminated Roethey are setting their sights on IVF,” he continued, referring to the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
President Joe Biden said the vote showed Republicans are “ignoring the right of women to make these decisions for themselves and their families.”
“Republican officials have every opportunity to protect reproductive freedom since the Supreme Court’s extreme decision to overturn it. Roe v. Wadebut they refuse to do so,” the president said. “However, the dangerous and untouchable Republican agenda will destroy women’s health and lives.”
Only two Republican Senators — Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — voted for the legislation. Collins told The Independent earlier this week he would vote for it despite his reservations.
“I hope we’re going to bring some serious legislation to the floor instead of just ordering bills to vote when we leave town,” Collins said.
Senate Republicans introduced a similar bill last week — the IVF Protection Act — that would withhold federal Medicaid funding to state that it bans IVF. Senator Ted Cruz dismissed those concerns, telling The Independent Democrats “could have protected IVF yesterday” if they voted for the GOP bill, led by Senator Katie Britt.
But Democrats shot down the bill because they say it has a key flaw: it doesn’t address the state’s efforts to destroy unviable embryos during the IVF process.
The concern over the criminalization of IVF stems from a February ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that classified frozen embryos as children under state law. As a result, Alabama’s three largest IVF centers have paused treatment out of concern they could face criminal charges.
Britt accused Democrats of playing politics with the legislation on Wednesday.
“I think what you’re seeing is Democrats continuing to be afraid of this issue,” he said The Independent.
Last week, nearly every Senate Republican blocked a measure that would have protected contraceptive rights in the United States. It comes as GOP lawmakers across the state block efforts to guarantee access to birth control.
Democrats argued that despite Republican rhetoric, the policy would jeopardize contraception and IVF. Specifically, he cited the fact that a majority of House Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, had signed on to support the Life Begins at Conception Act. The law states that an embryo can be considered alive “at all stages of life, including the time of fertilization.”
Ahead of Thursday’s Senate vote, House Democrats reiterated the need for codified IVF protections.
A coalition of House Democrats previously introduced a companion to the Senate bill that calls for similar IVF protections: the Access to Family Building Act. The move was made by several Democrats, including Representatives Susan Wild and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, both of whom underwent IVF treatment.
Wild, who held a press conference Thursday morning, said the bill protects IVF and expands access for veterans and active duty military, so they can access treatment regardless of the country they are stationed in.
“That’s why we need federal codification of this right,” Wild told reporters Thursday. “It’s not fair for our military families to face the prospect of not being able to continue IVF treatment or (not) getting it, depending on their next duty station.”
Wasserman Schultz told The Independent there is that the Republicans should do more than say they support IVF – they should vote to codify the protection.
“Commentary is not codification,” Wasserman Schultz said The Independent. “The only way we can ensure that women’s reproductive decisions are not further eroded – as if they were completely obliterated with Dobbs – should be included in federal law.
About 8 million children have been conceived through IVF in the United States, according to the Columbia University Fertility Center.
The process involves removing eggs from the individual’s body and combining them with sperm in the laboratory before implantation. This requires people planning to become pregnant to undergo eight to ten days of fertility injections and hormone treatment.
The procedure costs thousands of dollars for one cycle – though more than one cycle is often required. As a result, IVF is often financially inaccessible.