Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Patty Murray (D-WA) are asking for unanimous consent on their bill to protect in-vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments in the wake of a recent Alabama Supreme Court decision that declared cryogenically frozen embryos are “extrauterine children.”
The bill, called the Access to Family Building Act, which the senators reintroduced last month, would guarantee access to IVF, overriding any state policy restricting these services. The bill was first introduced in 2022 and was blocked by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) at the time.
“IVF is the reason that I’ve gotten to experience the chaos and beauty and stress and joy that is motherhood,” Duckworth said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Duckworth, who has had two daughters through IVF, said that despite a coordinated counteroffensive of Republicans rushing to embrace the practice in the days following the Alabama decision, she has not heard from any GOP senators willing to back her legislation. Since the Illinois senator is calling for unanimous consent, it would only take one Republican to block the bill, which could create a divide within the party over how to respond to the controversial ruling.
“If you truly care about the sanctity of families, and you’re genuinely, actually, honestly interested in protecting IVF, then you need to show it by not blocking this bill on the floor,” the Illinois Democrat said.
ALABAMA IVF CASE: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CONTROVERSIAL OPINION
The push for a vote on the legislation comes as Democrats look to put the Alabama issue front and center ahead of the 2024 election in an effort to highlight the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“Republicans own the disasters that emanate from Roe v. Wade, and Democrats are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to protect women, families, and reproductive freedom,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said at the press conference. “Republicans will learn, when it comes to attacks on personal freedoms, the American people will not easily forget.”
Murray urged Republicans to get on board with advancing the bill through unanimous consent.
“If Republicans seriously want to help the chaos and devastation they have worked so hard to create, they can help us restore the rights enshrined in Roe that they overturned to make all this possible, and they can help us pass legislation to protect and expand IVF care,” the Democratic senator from Washington state said.
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If a Republican objects to advancing the legislation on Wednesday, Duckworth suggested that Schumer could schedule a roll call vote on the bill, although the Senate majority leader has not said whether he would hold a vote.
“I would love a roll call vote. Let’s get them on the record,” she said.
