Senate Republicans block legislation to protect IVF

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, called it a ‘sad day’ for millions who struggle with infertility

Cory Booker (left), Chuck Schumer (center) and Patty Murray (right) speak to reporters after Senate Republicans blocked IVF protections (AFP via Getty Images)

Senate Republicans have yet again blocked a bill to protect in vitro fertilization (IVF).

The Right to IVF Act, championed by a group of Democrats, will not be voted on by the US Senate as nearly every GOP member voted to block cloture — that is, voted for an end to debate — on the legislation.

“It’s a very sad day for millions of Americans who want to become parents but struggle with infertility,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the vote. “Today, nearly every Republican just blocked a bill that would’ve protected people’s access to IVF.”

“Now that the hard right has finished eliminating Roe, they’re setting their sights on IVF,” he continued, referring to the overturn of Roe v Wade.

President Joe Biden said the vote demonstrated Republicans’ “disregard for a woman’s right to make these decisions for herself and her family.”

Cory Booker (left), Chuck Schumer (center) and Patty Murray (right) speak to reporters after Senate Republicans blocked IVF protections (AFP via Getty Images)

“Republican officials have had every opportunity to protect reproductive freedom since the Supreme Court’s extreme decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, but they refuse to do so,” the president said. “Instead, Republicans’ dangerous, out-of-touch agenda is devastating 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 that she would vote for it despite her reservations.

“I wish we would bring some serious legislation to the floor rather than just messaging bills that are voted on just as we’re departing town,” Collins said.

Senate Republicans introduced a similar bill last week — the IVF Protection Act — that would have withheld federal Medicaid funding to states that ban IVF. Senator Ted Cruz dismissed these concerns, telling The Independent Democrats “could have protected IVF yesterday” if they voted for the GOP bill, which he led alongside Senator Katie Britt.

But Democrats shot the bill down because they say it has a key omission: it did not address state efforts to criminalize disposing of nonviable embryos during the IVF process.

That concern about criminalizing IVF stems from a February ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court classifying frozen embryos are classified as children under state law. As a result, three of Alabama’s largest IVF centers paused treatment over concerns they could face criminal charges.

The Florida Supreme Court, pictured, ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law in February. (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Britt accused Democrats of playing politics with the legislation on Wednesday.

“I think what you see is Democrats continuing to fearmonger on this very issue,” she told The Independent.

Last week, nearly every Senate Republican blocked a measure that would protect the right to contraception in the United States. This came as GOP lawmakers across the country block efforts to ensure access to birth control.

Democrats contend that despite Republican rhetoric, their policies would put both contraception and IVF in danger. Specifically, they cite the fact that a majority of House Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have signed onto support the Life Begins at Conception Act. The legislation states that an embryo can be considered a life “at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization.”

Just ahead of Thursday’s Senate vote, House Democrats reaffirmed 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. That act was championed by several Democrats, including Representative Susan Wild and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who have both undergone IVF treatments.

Wild, who held a press conference Thursday morning, says their bill protects IVF and expands access for veterans and active-duty military, ensuring they will have access to treatments regardless of the state in which they’re stationed.

“This is why we need federal codification of this right,” Wild told reporters on Thursday. “It is so unfair to our military families to face the prospect of either not being able to continue IVF treatment or [not to] get it at all, depending on what their next duty station is.”

Wasserman Schultz told The Independent on Thursday that Republicans need to do more than say they support IVF — they need to vote to codify protections.

“Comments are not codification,” Wasserman Schultz told The Independent. “The only way that we can ensure that women's reproductive decisions aren't further eroded — like they were completely obliterated with Dobbs — is to put it in federal law.”

Some 8 million children have been conceived through IVF in the United States, according to the Columbia University Fertility Center.

The process involves removing an egg from an individual’s body and combining it with sperm in a laboratory before it is implanted. This requires the person who plans to become pregnant to undergo eight to ten days of fertility injections and hormone treatments.

The procedure costs thousands of dollars for a single cycle — though more than one cycle is often required. As a result, IVF is often financially inaccessible.