ICYMI: New Legislation From Senators Murray, Duckworth Would Protect Right to Access IVF, Other Assisted Reproductive Technology in the Face of Republican Attacks
Senator Murray: “Women aren’t just going to ‘forget’ who is responsible for this—who ripped away their dreams of building their families. This is not hyperbole. This is not hypothetical. This is happening.”
**VIDEO from press conference HERE***
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) held a press conference responding to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling on Friday that frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) are considered “extrauterine children” under state law, and calling for passage of legislation that would establish a statutory, nationwide right to access IVF treatment. The decision sparked concerns that embryos that are destroyed or damaged could lead to civil liability, which would have sweeping implications for fertility treatment—since the ruling, at least three IVF providers in Alabama have suspended IVF services.
At the press conference, Senator Murray forcefully denounced the Alabama ruling and the far-right ideology of “fetal personhood” underlying the decision—an ideology supported by many Republican politicians that has terrifying consequences for the humanity and rights of pregnant women and could put an end to people’s ability to build families through IVF. IVF is overwhelmingly popular with Americans—recent polling found that 85 percent of Americans support increasing access to fertility-related procedures and services. A survey from Pew Research Center in September found that 42 percent of adults say they have used fertility treatments or personally know someone who had—up from 33% five years ago.
“Imagine going through years of trying to get pregnant, to no avail, maybe going through the heartbreak of a miscarriage, often, multiple times. Then turning hopefully to IVF, allowing yourself to hope ‘maybe this time,’ only to have some right-wing judges pull the rug out from under you,” Senator Murray said at the press conference today. “My heart truly goes out to all of the women in Alabama who are suffering right now. And let’s get one thing straight—Republicans cannot pretend this is some surprise. They have fought for decades to overturn Roe, knowing full well it would create situations like this.”
“Women aren’t just going to ‘forget’ who is responsible for this—who ripped away their dreams of building their families,” Murray continued. “This is not hyperbole. This is not hypothetical. This is happening. If Republicans seriously want to help fix the chaos and devastation they have worked so hard to create, they can help us restore the rights enshrined in Roe—which they overturned to make all this possible—and they can help us pass my legislation to protect and expand IVF care.”
Just last month, Murray and Duckworth introduced their Access to Family Building Act, which would protect every American’s right to access IVF and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) services that millions of Americans rely on to have children. Building on the Right to Build Families Actthe lawmakers had introduced in previous Congresses, the new legislation would establish a statutory right to access IVF and other ART services, thereby pre-empting any state effort to limit such access and ensuring no hopeful parent—or their doctors—are punished for trying to start or grow their family.
After the Supreme Court’s disastrous Dobbs ruling, many women have not only seen their constitutional right to abortion ripped away from them as a result of state abortion bans, but their ability to get treatment for cancer, lupus and more—and to access IVF and other assisted reproductive technology in order to build a family—are also under threat. The new patchwork of state abortion bans has created significant confusion among patients and providers alike about what services doctors can and cannot provide in states with the most restrictive laws, leading IVF centers to call for new protections.
Senator Murray is a longtime leader in the fight to protect and expand access to reproductive health care and, after the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade, Murray has led Congressional efforts to fight back. Murray led her colleagues at the outset of this Congress to make crystal clear that Senate Democrats are continuing to fight to protect every American’s reproductive rights and will be a firewall against Republicans’ continued attacks on women’s rights—and that’s exactly what she’s doing now. Murray has introduced more than a dozen pieces of legislation to protect reproductive rights from further attacks, protect providers, and help ensure women get the care they need and repeatedly sought unanimous consent to pass common-sense bills to protect women’s fundamental freedoms; she also co-leads the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would restore the right to abortion nationwide, and has been leading Congressional efforts to make over-the-counter birth control affordable. In January, Senator Murray led Senate Democrats in hosting a briefing on the State of Abortion Rights across America, where senators heard powerful testimony from individuals who had been personally harmed by Republicans’ abortion bans.
Senator Murray’s full remarks, as delivered at today’s press conference, are below:
“First of all, thank you to Senator Duckworth who’s been such a champion on this issue and for your amazing words this morning.
“Ever since IVF access in Alabama was thrown into jeopardy by Republicans’ extreme ideology, women have been sharing the most heartbreaking stories about how their dreams of becoming a mother have been turned into a complete nightmare.
“Imagine going through years of trying to get pregnant, to no avail, maybe going through the heartbreak of a miscarriage, often, multiple times. Then turning hopefully to IVF, paying thousands—often tens of thousands—of dollars, taking your shots, allowing yourself to hope “maybe this time.
“Only to have some right-wing judges pull the rug out from under you because they believe a frozen embryo kept in storage at an IVF clinic is the same—and should have the exact same rights—as a living, breathing, human person, because they want everything that’s happening in doctors’ offices and fertility clinics to conform to their extreme ideology—one that would make services like IVF impossible.
“My heart truly goes out to all of the women in Alabama who are suffering right now.
“And let’s get one thing straight—Republicans cannot pretend this is some surprise.
“Republicans fought for decades to overturn Roe, knowing full well it would create situations like this.
“Democrats have been warning about this for years.
“It’s been incredible to watch Republicans now scramble over the weekend to suddenly support IVF while many of these same Republicans are literally, right now, cosponsors of legislation that would enshrine fetal personhood—the very concept that caused all of the chaos in Alabama—and would make IVF unavailable nationwide.
“You cannot support IVF and support fetal personhood laws. They are fundamentally incompatible! You are not fooling anyone!
“Women aren’t just going to ‘forget’ who is responsible for this—who ripped away their dreams of building their families.
“This is what happens when Republican politicians take away women’s power over their own bodies.
“This is not hyperbole. This is not hypothetical. This is happening.
“If Republicans seriously want to help fix the chaos and devastation they have worked so hard to create they can help us restore the rights enshrined in Roe—which they overturned to make all this possible—and they can help us pass legislation to protect and expand IVF care.
“And our bill—the Access to Family Building Act—is a great place to start.
“It just does not get more straightforward than this: if Republicans seriously support the right to build families through IVF, they can prove it tomorrow on the floor.”
###