Republicans leaders are tied up in knots on IVF after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are children, a decision that has led some clinics in the state to shut down in vitro fertilization treatments. Senate Democrats have a plan to increase their pain. Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois will bring a bill she authored to federally protect IVF treatments to the floor Wednesday, and ask for unanimous consent to pass it.
“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,” Duckworth told reporters Tuesday when she announced her plan. "They aren't just going to stop in Alabama. Mark my words, if we don't act now, it will only get worse," Duckworth said, adding that her bill will protect "every American's right to become a parent via treatments like IVF."
Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, a co-author of the bill, bluntly described the tough spot Republicans are in.
“Women aren’t just going to ‘forget’ who is responsible for this—who ripped away their dreams of building their families,” Murray said. “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.”