WASHINGTON – Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi on Wednesday blocked passage of a bill that would have maintained access to in vitro fertilization nationwide, blocking a Democratic push after a landmark decision by the state Supreme Court Alabama.
The court decided earlier this month that frozen embryos were considered children under state law and parents could seek damages for their destruction, putting IVF programs in the state on hold.
Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth asked for unanimous consent to pass the IVF bill, a process that would allow any individual senator to block it from reaching the House of Representatives.
Duckworth said she would push for a roll call vote on the bill at a later date to get all senators on the record.
“My girls are my everything,” Duckworth said, referring to her two daughters. “They probably would never have been born if I hadn’t had access to the basic reproductive rights that Americans relied on for nearly half a century until recently.”
Duckworth said she struggled with infertility after serving in Iraq.
Hyde-Smith argued that the bill was “overreaching” and contained provisions she disagreed with.
“I support the ability for mothers and fathers to have full access to IVF and bring new life into the world, and I also believe that human life should be protected,” Hyde-Smith said.
She also argued that the Alabama case does not ban IVF. However, clinics in the state suspended treatments following the ruling.
Duckworth defended her bill, saying that it protects people seeking IVF technology without fear of being prosecuted, that it protects the right of doctors to offer this treatment, and that it allows insurance companies to provide reproductive technologies to cover.
“It simply means that if you choose assisted reproductive technology, you have a legal right to be able to do that,” Duckworth said.
“These women have destroyed their dreams”
Washington state Democratic Senator Patty Murray criticized Republicans for blocking the motion for unanimous consent to pass the bill.
“These women’s dreams have been shattered because Republicans believe that a frozen embryo stored in an IVF clinic is the same and should have exactly the same rights as a living, breathing human being,” Murray said.
Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, said the first child born through IVF in the United States took place in Norfolk, Virginia in 1981. He added that this was appreciated 12 million people have been born through IVF.
“She’s starting her own family today,” Kaine said. “What could be more life-protecting than in vitro fertilization?”
Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden said the overturn of Roe v. Wade led to a “rush of court decisions like this in Alabama.”
Nevada Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto said when the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade picked up, “we could tell from a mile away that IVF was in danger.”
“It’s not going to stop at Alabama,” Cortez Masto said. “The attack on artificial insemination was another opportunity for anti-choice Republicans to undermine the rights of women in this country.”
Britt: Alabama is taking action
Alabama Republican Senator Katie Britt said in a brief interview with States Newsroom on Wednesday afternoon that her home state should be entrusted with solving the problem.
“So right now, Alabama is working to protect IVF,” she said.
Alabama State Legislature introduced three bills out of committee on Wednesday would protect access to IVF in the state.
The debate in the US Senate over access to IVF was fair Hours after the Senate Budget Committee held a hearing about “the economic harm of restricting reproductive freedom,” which also included statements about access to the procedure.
Caitlin Myers, the John G. McCullough Professor of Economics at Middlebury College in Vermont, told the committee that access to “reproductive autonomy is not just about young people avoiding parenthood until they are ready, but about everyone People are capable of becoming parents at the time they want to.”
“The economic evidence suggests that this will allow women to spend more time finding the right partner, investing in education and investing in their careers,” she said. “And in a country and at a time when more and more people are delaying parenthood, the lack of access to IVF is very worrying from an economic perspective.”
44 co-sponsors with Duckworth
The Duckworth The invoiceThe so-called “Access to Family Building Act” is nine pages long and aims to provide protection for patients and health care providers.
Duckworth introduced the bill in mid-January with Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Washington State Sen. Murray and New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand as original co-sponsors.
Support for the bill increased this week, with the number of co-sponsors rising to 44 on Wednesday.
The bill states that it would prohibit restrictions on “assisted reproductive technology services” that are “more burdensome than restrictions or requirements on medically comparable procedures, do not substantially improve the reproductive health or safety of such services, and unreasonably restrict access to such services.” restrict”. ”
Assisted reproductive technology is defined in the legislation as that which is contained in Section 8 of the Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act 1992.
The Law The definition states that it includes “all treatments or procedures involving the handling of human eggs or embryos, including in vitro fertilization, transfer of gametes into the fallopian tube, transfer of zygotes into the fallopian tube, and other specific technologies applicable to the “The Minister may, upon publication, include in this definition the proposed definition in a manner that facilitates comment by any person (including a federal agency or other public authority).”
GOP senators reject congressional action
Republican senators, in a brief conversation with the state’s newsroom on Tuesday, all rejected the idea that Congress should step in now and set a nationwide policy on access to IVF. And some expressed concerns about the drafting of the bill.
Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said he needed to look at Duckworth’s bill in detail, but said he “understands that it’s just much broader than IVF treatment.”
As for IVF access in general, Romney said he doesn’t believe federal lawmakers “have enough influence over it at this point, as this is not a problem for any state other than Alabama.”
“And the Alabama Legislature, as I understand it, is trying to resolve this problem legislatively, so I don’t think it’s a problem elsewhere,” Romney said.
Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said that while she supports everyone having access to IVF, she is unsure whether Congress should approve the bill.
“I think we need to maintain access to IVF for families and people suffering from infertility,” she said. “But I think this is a state issue in Alabama right now. And I think they should fix it there first.”
Indiana Republican Sen. Todd Young said access to IVF “must be protected” and he would explore supporting legislation to do just that, although he said he had not yet read Duckworth’s bill.
“I would consider any suggestions that are made here,” Young said. “I haven’t read through the details of it. Some have characterized it as too broad.”
“But I would consider legislation to protect this important privilege for women and families,” Young said.
GOP senators say it’s a state issue
Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall said he believes the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which struck down the constitutional right to abortion, has brought issues like IVF to the attention of state lawmakers .
“I think the Dobbs decision clearly states that this should be a state-level decision,” Marshall said. “I encourage state legislators to support IVF. It’s a beautiful thing, hundreds of babies are born every day across the country thanks to IVF.”
The US Supreme Court Verdict in Dobbs said: “The Constitution does not grant a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion will be returned to the people and their elected representatives.” This includes Congress.
Marshall said Republicans across the country “should all agree that we are the pro-family party, and we should celebrate IVF.”
“It’s an incredible technique, something I’ve been a part of…almost 100 or more cycles and just a lot of beautiful children that I know from IVF,” Marshall said.
Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said it’s “not yet” time for Congress to step in with nationwide legislation on IVF, although she said it’s crucial for Americans to have access to the process.
“I think the message we have is that families should have access to IVF. “That is extremely important,” said Ernst. “I have a friend who has twin daughters because of IVF. So I hope we can do that.”
Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville said the matter should be left to state lawmakers.
“Let them do it, just like they do an abortion. Give everyone a chance to vote on this,” Tuberville said. “I think it will work a lot better than people complaining up here. We need to buckle down and deal with all the things we can control.”
