Senate Republican Blocks Attempt to Federally Protect In Vitro Fertilization

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) blocked an attempt by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) to enshrine access to in vitro fertilization in federal law on Wednesday.

Duckworth and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) reintroduced a bill they first unveiled in 2022 after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion. The reintroduction of the legislation, which would create a federal right to IVF and other fertility treatments, comes after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled this month that embryos are people. That decision prompted fertility clinics in the state to pause their IVF practices because embryos are destroyed as a matter of routine at such clinics.

“If you truly care about the sanctity of families, if you’re genuinely, actually, honestly interested in protecting IVF, then you need to show it by not blocking this bill today,” Duckworth said on the Senate floor. “It’s that simple.”

The senator then asked to pass her bill via unanimous consent, but was thwarted when Hyde-Smith objected.

“Is there objection?” the chair asked.

“Reserving the right to object,” Hyde-Smith said, seeking recognition. “I support the ability for mothers and fathers to have total access to IVF and bringing new life into the world. I also believe human life should be protected. These are not mutually exclusive.”

Hyde-Smith then recalled the case that prompted the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision, which was handed down after someone at a clinic inadvertently destroyed embryos. Here is how she described the incident:

Let’s be clear about what the Alabama case is about. This was a case brought by families whose human embryos were killed when an unauthorized individual walked into the fertility clinic through an unsecured door, removed several human embryos, and dropped them, causing their deaths.

The court’s holding in favor of the parents found that these frozen human embryos are children under Alabama law. It did not ban IVF, nor has any state banned IVF. The bill before us today is a vast overreach that is full of poison pills that go way too far.

Hyde-Smith is technically correct. The Alabama decision did not explicitly ban IVF, but its ruling that embryos are human beings has created confusion and prompted the IVF treatment pause in the state.

Watch above via C-SPAN.