Senate Republicans have blocked legislation that would protect access to in vitro fertilization, objecting to a vote on the issue Wednesday even after widespread backlash to a recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that threatens the practice. GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith objected to a request for a vote by Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who used IVF treatments to have her two children after struggling with years of infertility. Duckworth's bill would establish a federal right to the treatments after the Alabama ruling upended fertility care in the state and families that had already started the process, the AP reports.
Several clinics in Alabama have announced they're pausing IVF services as they sort out last week's ruling, which said that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. Democrats have seized on the issue, warning that other states could follow Alabama's lead. Hyde-Smith defended the court decision, pointing out that it originated with a pair of wrongful death cases brought by three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic. "I support the ability for mothers and fathers to have total access to IVF and bringing new life into the world. I also believe human life should be protected," Hyde-Smith said.
This is the second time Republicans have blocked Duckworth's bill. By bringing it up again, Democrats said they are challenging GOP senators to display real support for IVF access after many criticized the state ruling. Democrats held the Senate floor for 45 minutes Wednesday with speeches deriding the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday that Republicans who denounce the Alabama ruling "are like the arsonist who set a house on fire and say, why is it burning?" In her speech, Duckworth talked about having her children through IVF after being injured while piloting a Black Hawk helicopter in Iraq. "IVF is the reason I get to experience the chaos and the beauty, the stress and the joy, that is motherhood," she said.
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