House Democrats are expanding their reproductive rights playbook by launching an effort to warn that in vitro fertilization could be at risk if Republicans continue to hold the majority despite efforts by GOP lawmakers to preserve access to the procedure.
The strategy stems from Democratic action after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which returned the question of abortion’s legality back to the states and has motivated massive voter turnout among the Democratic Party over the last two years.
Republicans have struggled to establish a unified message on in vitro fertilization, which was brought to the forefront after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that embryos created through IVF should be considered children. As a result, the destruction of embryos would constitute a “wrongful death of a minor,” raising concerns among medical professionals about possible legal issues.
Democrats were quick to seize on the issue, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launching a five-figure billboard campaign earlier this year targeting vulnerable Republicans for their support of the Life at Conception Act, which Democrats say would threaten access to IVF.
The Life at Conception Act was introduced in the House last year and would seek to establish that life begins at conception, therefore granting the fetus legal protection from that moment forward. However, the bill does not carve out explicit exceptions for IVF, raising questions about whether restrictions can be placed on doctors who perform the procedure.
Democrats have specifically targeted at least eight vulnerable Republican incumbents who voted in favor of the bill, including Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), who co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act. Since then, Miller-Meeks has signed on to resolutions declaring support for access to IVF and other contraception, which could provide cover as she hits the campaign trail this summer.
“As a physician and mother, I fully support IVF, considering it one of the most pro-life actions we can take,” Miller-Meeks said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
Miller-Meeks noted she initially signed on to the Life at Conception Act before Roe was overturned by the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision because “it is common to sign a bill and then improve it through the amendment process.” However, she said she did not sign on after Dobbs, instead seeking clarification on how it would affect IVF protections.
“I am diligently working on legislation to provide over-the-counter oral contraception, support for women and mothers, paid family leave, further support for adoption, and other pro-life measures which do not impede or restrict IVF,” Miller-Meeks said. “I am pro-life with exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother.”
After the Alabama ruling, several other Republicans have sought to reverse course to come out in support of IVF — something Democrats have argued contradicts their support of the Life at Conception Act.
The Republican-led Alabama state House and Senate passed concurrent bills in February to provide legal protection to healthcare providers that perform IFV services in direct response to the state Supreme Court’s ruling. The legislation carved out specific protections for IVF providers, who frequently destroy leftover and nonviable embryos created in the process according to the standards of care for the procedure.
Other Republicans have also acknowledged IVF as a possible weakness for the GOP and have introduced legislation that would preserve access to the procedure.
Just this week, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Katie Britt (R-AL) unveiled legislation that would ensure IVF access is “legally protected nationwide” by making the practice a condition for states to receive federal Medicaid funding. The legislation does not prevent states from setting up “health and safety standards to govern IVF,” but the senators say that by placing funding conditions on the practice, it simply “ensures that access to IVF is fully protected by federal law.”
Democrats’ focus on IVF comes as the party plans to establish a campaign platform ensuring abortion access and championing a broader agenda of defending freedoms. The DCCC is especially planning to ensure abortion is top of mind for voters as they target 18 GOP-held House districts across seven states that could hold referendums related to the issue.
Democrats are confident in their ability to appeal to independent and even Republican voters on protecting abortion access, with the DCCC pointing to recent abortion referendum measures that drove voter turnout. States where referendums have been added or are likely to be added include Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, and New York.
States such as Arizona and Florida have referendums seeking to block state legislators from banning abortion unless the pregnancy is deemed viable. New York has a slightly different proposal on the ballot that would seek to bar discrimination on the basis of pregnancy or pregnancy outcome that would be part of a larger discrimination constitutional amendment.
Since the reversal of Roe, more than half a dozen states have held ballot measures on access to the procedure, with anti-abortion organizers losing in each case.
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Republicans generally counter that candidate elections are far different than single-issue campaigns and that the economy, not abortion, will be top of mind for voters come November. A spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee brushed off the attacks, arguing issues such as crime and immigration will play a bigger role in November.
“A top non-partisan election analyst just dumped cold water on the DCCC’s pipe dream that ballot initiatives will be a ‘silver bullet’ for overcoming extreme House Democrats’ dangerous open-border, pro-crime and pro-inflation policies,” NRCC National press secretary Will Reinert told the Washington Examiner in April.
