Republican blocks Senate Democrats' push to pass IVF protections nationwide
Before attempting to pass the bill, Tammy Duckworth gave a passionate speech.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth was blocked by Republicans on Wednesday from unanimously passing legislation to establish a right to access assistive reproductive care like in vitro fertilization -- a push spurred by a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that embryos are children, which has upended IVF in the state.
Before attempting to pass the bill, Duckworth gave a passionate speech and shared her own experiences with IVF, through which she conceived her two children.
"It made my heart whole, it made my life full," she said.
But it was expected that her legislation would be blocked -- as it had been previously -- because any one objector had the authority to stop it in its tracks.
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Mississippi Republican, opposed Duckworth's proposal, arguing that it violates religious freedoms and overshot protecting IVF to more sweeping and "extreme" genetic matters.
"This bill misses the mark," she said.
Duckworth, in her own speech, had called Republicans out for "hypocrisy" as many of them defend access to IVF while simultaneously cheering the fall of Roe v. Wade's guarantee to abortion access, which Democrats cite as a precedent paving the way for decisions like the Alabama ruling on embryos.
"I know I'm not the only one who struggles to understand how elected representatives who back these kinds of polices call themselves members of the so-called party of life," Duckworth contended.
At a news conference Tuesday, she lambasted the Alabama ruling.
"It's a little personal to me when a majority-male court suggests that people like me who are not able to have kids without the help of modern medicine should be in jail cells and not taking care of their babies in nurseries," she said then.
Earlier this month, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that "unborn children are 'children' … without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics." The sweeping decision from the court's majority could impact the future of IVF treatments in the state -- and several IVF providers have paused parts of their care to patients for fear of legal risks.
Duckworth and other Senate Democrats made floor speeches on the bill on Wednesday afternoon.
"If we do not act now, it will only get worse," she said.
Democrats were also out in force Tuesday announcing that they'd push forward with trying to pass the legislation in hopes, they said, of putting Republicans on the record.
Ahead of Hyde-Smith's objection, several Republicans had signaled an openness to Duckworth's bill, but some doubted the need for federal action.
"There's no effort in Florida or any state in the country to ban fertility treatment," Sen. Marco Rubio said.
Nonetheless, the Florida Republican indicated that legislation could be a relief for medical practitioners exposed to liability.
"I think it'd be worthwhile for every state to provide clear, legal legislative guidance on how clinics can handle unused embryos, particularly when parents have not given clear direction," Rubio said.
Sen. Roger Marshall, an OB-GYN who practiced medicine for more than 25 years before he was elected, called on colleagues to "have a lot of compassion and care. This is a very complicated topic, a very personal topic. I encourage people discuss the issue with their own pastor, their own priests, their own rabbi."
"The Republican Party is the pro-family party. So there's nothing more pro family then then welcoming new babies into the into the world. I think the Dobbs decision [reversing Roe] clearly puts this issue back at the state level. And we'd encourage the state Legislature of Alabama to right this wrong and look forward to more IVF babies," the Kansas Republican said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham bluntly said an embryo doesn't constitute life.
"I think one thing I've learned is that nobody's ever been born in a freezer -- that I know of. So you're not going to be born in a freezer," he said.
"We need to have a balanced approach to make sure that the the treatments go forward," he said.
Duckworth had said that if Republicans who, in recent days have been asserting their support of IVF, are being true to their word, they should support her effort Wednesday.
"We'll see tomorrow when rubber hits the road whether they actually show up and show support for IVF or whether they actively block American families' ability to start families through IVF," she said Tuesday.
On ABC's "GMA3" on Wednesday morning, Duckworth said, "If you start to define a fertilized egg as a person with full human rights above that of the mother who would carry that fertilized egg, you're going to end up in a place where it's not just about access to abortion, it's about access to treatments like IVF or even contraceptives."
Still, Duckworth said she doubted Republicans would support the bill, calling the vote "a test."
Duckworth appeared on "This Week" on Sunday where she told co-anchor Martha Raddatz that "it's been crickets" from Republicans since the Alabama ruling threatened IVF access in the state.
"Frankly, let's see if they vote for it when we when we bring it to the floor," Duckworth told Raddatz.
Duckworth's bill would also establish the right to use or dispose of "reproductive genetic material" and allow the Justice Department to pursue civil action against states who block this right.
Duckworth has been trying to advance a similar version of this bill for years, but it has previously faced challenges from Republicans.
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