Duckworth, Senate Democrats Urge Republicans to Help Pass Legislative Package to Establish a Nationwide Right to IVF and Lower IVF Costs for Families
After blocking Senator Duckworth’s legislation to protect IVF twice before, this week’s vote on the Right to IVF Act is yet another chance for Senate GOP to actually protect IVF treatment that they claim to support
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Ahead of the Senate vote on their Right to IVF Act, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) joined IVF patients, providers and advocates in coordination with RESOLVE and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) to underscore the importance of passing their pro-family, pro-freedom legislation to protect and strengthen IVF for all Americans as Republicans continue their anti-choice, anti-science crusade. In their remarks, the Senate Democrats called on Senate Republicans who claim to support IVF to prove it by helping pass the Right to IVF Act tomorrow that would both establish a nationwide right to IVF and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) as well as lower the costs of IVF treatment for those who struggle with infertility. Senator Duckworth’s remarks can be found on YouTube and a full video of the press conference can be found on X/Twitter.
“In the nearly two years since the Supreme Court threw out Roe v. Wade, our nation has seen the horrific consequences of Republicans’ anti-science, anti-woman crusade that has put IVF at risk for millions of Americans who rely on it to start or grow their family—and we know Alabama was only the beginning,” said Senator Duckworth. “It’s simple: if Republicans really want to support IVF like they so desperately claim to—and that they’re literally campaigning on—then they should help us pass our Right to IVF Act tomorrow. Unlike their so-called ‘IVF Protection’ bill, our pro-family, pro-freedom legislation would actually protect access to IVF, expand IVF coverage for Veterans and make it easier to afford fertility care for all Americans who rely on this treatment to build the families of their dreams.”
“We all saw the chaos and heartbreak caused when the Alabama Supreme Court upended IVF access, and today, the threat is not gone—because Republican leaders continue to support the Life at Conception Act that would make fetal personhood the law of the land and take the crisis we saw in Alabama nationwide,” said Senator Murray. “Meanwhile, Republicans' bill to allegedly ‘protect’ IVF wouldn’t do anything to stop these attacks—in fact it explicitly allows states to enact restrictions and burdensome requirements that would force IVF clinics to close their doors. The GOP bill is nothing but a PR stunt—providing cover for Republicans to keep pretending they are not trying to control women’s bodies. If Republicans truly want to protect IVF in a meaningful way, I hope they will join us in voting for the Right to IVF Act, which will protect the right to IVF and lower IVF costs for families—including our servicemembers and veterans, who should never have to sacrifice their ability to start their families.”
“In the wake of the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, we must recommit ourselves to protecting reproductive freedoms and Americans’ right to make their own medical decisions,” said Senator Booker. “Extreme court rulings have made it crystal clear that access to IVF treatments are under threat across America, which is why I am working with my colleagues to pass this comprehensive package of bills that will ensure that the freedom to start and grow a family is protected and accessible to everyone in the United States.”
Today’s press conference comes after Senators Duckworth and Murray released the following fact sheet that outlines the very real and growing threat Republican lawmakers in Congress and across the country are posing to IVF and other ART.
Following the Senators’ remarks at the press conference, IVF patient advocates Jamie Heard, Julie Eshelman and Luisa Lopez with RESOLVE shared their own personal experiences with IVF and the barriers they have faced in access to fertility care. Dr. Amanda Adeleye—who was Senator Duckworth’s State of the Union guest earlier this year—highlighted the importance of ensuring doctors are protected from prosecution or criminalization while they are simply trying to help their patients build the families of their dreams. The Right to IVF Act is supported by RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association and ASRM.
“As one of the hundreds of families impacted by the Alabama Supreme Court ruling earlier this year, I stand on Capitol Hill’s steps to call on Congress to pass the Right to IVF Act,” said Jamie Heard, patient advocate from Birmingham, Alabama. “In February, the future of my family was put on pause as fertility centers across the state withheld fertility treatments over legal risks. Now, a band aid fix has re-opened clinics, but it’s only a matter of time before our care is at risk again. I call on Congress to support those who have dreams of building a family and pass this legislation to protect IVF at the federal level.”
“I am so grateful to Senators Duckworth, Murray and Booker for proposing the Right to IVF Act,” said Julie Eshelman, patient advocate from Pennsylvania. “As a military wife, I know the sacrifices of going through fertility treatments far too intimately, as I’ve waited for referrals and waitlists at fertility clinics throughout our past five moves over 7 years. We’ve paid out of pocket for the costly treatments as TRICARE — the plan provided to military families — doesn’t cover them, and we have experienced the emotional and physical exhaustion IVF brings. I urge Congress to pass this legislation and make family building easier for military families and all Americans.”
“As a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist in Illinois, I have had the opportunity to treat people from all walks of life. One patient I will always remember had breast cancer. The chemotherapy to treat her cancer was expected to damage her ovaries and end her chances of having a genetically related family. Using IVF, I was able to help her freeze her embryos so she was able to have a child when she survived her cancer, which she thankfully ultimately did,” said Dr. Amanda Adeleye from Illinois. “I teared up with tears of joy that day when she came back to my office a couple years later, after she was in remission from her cancer and ready to start a family with the embryos she froze. She represented exactly what I came here to do: to help people in need and build their families. But politicians simply do not know better than citizens or highly trained doctors what kind of medical care should be available. By passing the Right to IVF Act, we would help ensure that medical decisions are made by patients—in consultation with their physicians—not by judges, by politicians, or by bureaucrats.”
“Having access to the fertility treatments necessary to build a family should be a protected right for everyone,” said Luisa Lopez, a patient advocate from New York. “My family has experienced the heartbreak and financial strain of IVF treatments, involving eight IVF cycles and two miscarriages. Without insurance coverage, this can be an expensive process that not everyone is able to afford, but price shouldn’t be a determining factor in anyone’s family building journey. The Right to IVF Act would open opportunities for families nationwide to fulfill their dreams of having children, and I urge lawmakers to pass this legislation.”
“Family building is a bipartisan issue and IVF is wildly popular, with support from 85% of the public,” said Barbara Collura, president and CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. “We are grateful for the leadership of Senators Duckworth, Murray and Booker for introducing the Right to IVF Act, the most comprehensive legislative package we’ve seen yet to protect IVF and expand access to care through insurance. We urge Senators to pass this critical legislation.”
“We are grateful to Majority Leader Schumer for bringing this measure to the floor and Senators Murray, Duckworth, and Booker for their tireless advocacy on behalf of Americans who need the expert medical care of our members,” said Elizabeth Ginsburg, MD, President-elect of American Society for Reproductive Medicine. “Too often, reproduction is singled out, and those who suffer from reproductive disorders are discriminated against. Too many patients are unable to access the treatments they need because political activists have targeted their disease. It is an honor for us to be here today to stand with our champions as they fight for our patients.”
Building on the lawmakers’ previous efforts to protect and strengthen access to IVF, the Right to IVF Act—which heads to the Senate floor for a vote tomorrow—includes:
- Senator Duckworth’s Access to Family Building Act, which would establish a nationwide right for patients to access IVF and other ART services, a right for doctors to provide IVF treatment in accordance with medical standards as well as a right for insurance carriers to cover IVF without prohibition, limitation, interference or impediment. By establishing a statutory right, this would pre-empt any state effort to limit such access and ensuring no hopeful parent—or their doctors—are punished for trying to start or grow a family.
- In February, Senator Duckworth sought unanimous consent to pass this legislation and Republican U.S. Senator of Mississippi Cindy Hyde-Smith blocked it.
- Senator Murray’s Veteran Families Health Services Act, which would expand the fertility treatments and family-building services that are covered under servicemembers’ and Veterans’ health care to include—among other things—the option for individuals to cryopreserve their gametes (freeze their eggs or sperm) ahead of deployment to a combat zone and in vitro fertilization (IVF) for servicemembers and veterans who are unable to conceive without assistance.
- In March, Senator Murray sought unanimous consent to pass this legislation and Republican U.S. Senator of Oklahoma James Lankford blocked it.
- Senator Booker’s Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act, which would increase affordability of fertility care—including IVF—by requiring employer-sponsored insurance plans and other public insurance plans to cover fertility treatments. Additionally, it would standardize a baseline of high-quality fertility treatment coverage under private health insurance plans, while protecting Americans against excessive out-of-pocket costs.
- Senator Duckworth’s Family Building FEHB Fairness Act, which would require Federal Employees Health Benefit (FEHB) Program—the largest employer-sponsored health insurance plan in the world—carriers to cover IVF and ART to help more hardworking Americans start and grow their families.
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