On Monday, a group of Senate Democrats will present a new package to secure access to IVF, continuing the party’s push for reproductive rights this month, two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
An Alabama high court judgment earlier this year highlighted IVF as a potential new front in the fight for reproductive rights in the United States, when the court ruled that embryos are children under state law and ordered doctors to suspend fertility procedures. Though the state legislature took steps to secure access to the treatment, Democrats promptly blamed Republicans, raising concerns about similar measures elsewhere.
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“In the nearly two years since the Supreme Court threw out Roe v. Wade, our nation has seen the horrific consequences of Republicans’ anti-science, anti-woman crusade that has put IVF at risk for millions of Americans who rely on it to start or grow their families,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who is leading the push for the package, said in a statement to CBS News.
The Right to IVF Act is a collection of four pieces of legislation supported by Duckworth, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey. It focuses on the right to obtain and offer IVF services while also making the treatments more affordable. However, Senate Republicans have previously opposed some of the proposals, making the package difficult to pass the upper chamber.
Among the reforms in the package is the Access to Family Building Act, which would establish a formal entitlement to assisted reproductive procedures such as IVF. In February, Duckworth attempted to approve the bill with unanimous assent, but one Republican senator protested, alleging that it went too far.
A Republican senator earlier this year vetoed a measure in the package that aims to increase veterans’ access to fertility treatments. Other initiatives included in its contents help to reduce expenses for Americans by mandating insurance companies to cover IVF.
The legislation comes as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has announced intentions for the Senate to prioritize reproductive rights “front and center” this month, including action on a bill to safeguard access to contraception. Democrats have attempted to put Republicans on record on issues such as IVF, contraception, and abortion, which were big motivators for voters in the midterm elections.
“Democrats will never relent until we reverse the immense damage that the Supreme Court has inflicted on this country, and the American people have a right to know where their elected officials stand on protecting rights and reproductive care,” Schumer said on the Senate floor late last month, teasing the efforts.
Though Senate Republicans have mostly expressed support for IVF in the aftermath of the Alabama decision, lawmakers appear to be at odds on a road ahead that would satisfy both parties. Two Senate Republicans, Ted Cruz of Texas and Katie Britt of Alabama, presented legislation last month to protect access to IVF, requesting bipartisan support. However, Democrats soon opposed the bill, questioning its scope and method.
The GOP initiative, known as the IVF Protection Act, would compel states to “do not prohibit in vitro fertilization” in order to receive federal Medicaid funding, which provides health care to low-income Americans. However, the law would not compel an organization or individual to provide IVF treatments, nor does it prevent states from otherwise regulating IVF, possibly in ways that contradict Democrats’ intentions.
Murray stated in a statement that the GOP legislation would not protect IVF, calling it a “PR tool for Republicans to hide their extremism.” In contrast, the Washington Democrat stated that the new Democratic bill “would actually protect Americans from attempts to restrict IVF,” while also expanding access and cutting prices.
