WASHINGTON – Senator Patty Murray (D) and a cohort of Democratic senators are touting proposed legislation to protect in vitro fertilization (IVF) following a February Alabama Supreme Court ruling which asserted that frozen embryos have constitutional rights.
The Alabama ruling applied an 1872 child protection law to frozen embryos, which caused IVF treatments to temporarily halt across the state and caused a scramble amongst Republicans in the state legislature to pass a bill protecting the procedure.
Democratic leaders argue that the Alabama ruling is part of a broader conservative project to dismantle reproductive healthcare rights across the United States. President Joe Biden addressed the ruling during his State of the Union address on March 7.
“The Alabama Supreme Court shut down IVF treatments across the state, unleashed by the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade…Look at the chaos that has resulted,” Biden said.
Republicans, including former president Donald Trump and Senator Katie Britt, have voiced their support for the broadly popular procedure and attempted to create political distance between the GOP and the Alabama Supreme Court.
Democrats in the national legislature have seized upon the moment to tout the party’s reproductive healthcare access policies.
Murray announced that she will seek unanimous consent to pass the Veteran Families Health Services Act on Tuesday, which would remove current barriers to IVF access for those on Veterans Affairs (VA) insurance.
When introduced last year, Murray was joined by Senator Tammy Duckworth and two House Democrats in sponsoring the bill.
Duckworth, a combat veteran and a mother, argued that the policy would modernize VA care.
“I wouldn’t be a mother today without the miracle of IVF, which is one reason why I’m proud to be introducing this important bill with Senator Murray that would help modernize our healthcare systems as well as expand fertility treatment and counseling offerings at the VA,” Duckworth said.
In the same announcement in which Duckworth underscored the impact of IVF, Murray connected the legislation to abortion access.
“Since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, Senator Murray has consistently fought to protect servicemembers’ access to abortion,” the statement said.
The bill has not significantly progressed since being introduced in 2023. However, even if the policy does not make it to the president’s desk, it still provides an opportunity for Senate Democrats to pitch the reproductive healthcare priorities of the party in a contentious election year.
