Democrats are going on offense over access to in vitro fertilization (IVF), looking to hold Republicans’ feet to the fire and force them to answer uncomfortable questions about the full impact of fetal personhood.
In the wake of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling, Republicans have publicly spoken up to say they fully support IVF.
But they have largely avoided detailing how clinics should handle unimplanted, viable embryos, as many seem to agree that embryos are children with equal rights.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) is circulating a nonbinding resolution expressing “strong support for continued access to fertility care,” including in vitro fertilization.
Yet neither she nor any other Republicans have co-sponsored legislation by Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) that would federally codify Americans’ rights to IVF.
Wild on Thursday said the bill has picked up more than 90 additional co-sponsors this week, all of them Democrats.
In an open letter posted Thursday, the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, led by Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas), called out what they said was the hypocrisy of Mace’s resolution.
“The outcry that has been heard since the Alabama decision was handed down is one that cannot be ignored. Which is, of course, why House Republicans have tried to change the subject with this resolution,” they wrote.
During a press conference Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) dodged when asked if he believed discarding a fertilized embryo is murder.
“Look, I believe in the sanctity of every human life — I always have — and because of that I support IVF and its availability,” Johnson said.
During IVF treatments, multiple eggs are often harvested, fertilized and then frozen to increase the chances of successful implementation and pregnancy. If an embryo is not viable, if genetic abnormalities are identified or if a patient does not wish to have any more children, common medical practice is to discard them.
Johnson is a religious conservative who has long said he believes life begins at conception.
Like 124 other House Republicans, Johnson is a co-sponsor of the Life at Conception Act, which would grant personhood from “the moment of fertilization, cloning,” or any other mechanism of creation. If enacted, it would likely have the same impact as the Alabama decision across the country.
The Alabama ruling criminalized the destruction of frozen embryos under Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act and led multiple clinics in the state, including the state’s largest health system, to pause IVF operations for fear of legal repercussions.
Many Republicans raced to distance themselves from the ruling, and the GOP Senate campaign arm called on candidates to reject attempts to regulate access to the procedure.
But Democrats, including President Biden, say the ruling is the logical extension of Republicans’ anti-abortion views and are seeking to tie the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.
They are also eager to hang the decision around the neck of former President Trump, the front-runner for the GOP nomination.
“It’s simple: if Donald Trump supported IVF, he would demand Republicans protect access to it — but he hasn’t. The moment Roe was overturned, Donald Trump’s legacy became every abortion ban, limit on women’s health care, and any family losing access to the IVF treatment they need across the country,” Biden-Harris 2024 senior spokesperson Lauren Hitt said in a statement.
In the Senate, Republicans have largely said they think fertility treatments are a states’ rights issue.
While they support access to IVF, they argue the U.S. government doesn’t need to get involved in protecting it.
“I support IVF, and under Dobbs, the decision about how to work things out in Alabama is up to the people of Alabama,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told reporters. “I have every confidence that the people of Alabama, either themselves or through their elected representatives, will work out a way to protect in vitro fertilization.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said he hopes that “states can work it out” and endorsed the model adopted by Louisiana in 1986, which says an embryo is a “juridical person” and bans the deliberate destruction of embryos.
But Senate Democrats said Republicans are trying to have it both ways.
“You can’t claim that life begins a minute an egg is fertilized and then claim that you are fully supportive of IVF. That’s not how this is going to work,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) told reporters Wednesday before asking for unanimous consent to pass a bill creating federal IVF protections.
“The American people need to know that when they make their decision in November.”
Senate Republicans ultimately blocked Duckworth’s bill. Under the expedited unanimous consent process, any single senator can object to passage.
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) objected, saying the legislation was an overreach full of “poison pills” that would go far beyond ensuring access to IVF.
The lack of a formal roll call vote could give cover to Republicans if they continue to publicly back access to IVF, but Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Democrats aren’t going to let up.
“This isn’t some surprise. The Alabama Supreme Court decision is Republican ideology in action. So spare me the empty statements,” Murray said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “Unless you’re actually going to work with us to protect IVF, save your breath.”