Duckworth and Murray Outline How Republican Attacks on IVF are Serious, Real and on the Rise Across America

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Patty Murray (D-WA) released the following fact sheet to outline the very real and growing threat Republican lawmakers in Congress and across the country are posing to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) services. Duckworth and Murray have both raised the alarm forcefully against Republican threats to IVF and other reproductive health care, particularly since the Dobbs decision.

“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,” said Senator Duckworth upon introducing her Right to IVF Act alongside Senators Murray and Booker. “Struggling with infertility is painful enough—every American deserves the right to access the treatment and tools they need to build the family of their dreams without the fear of being prosecuted for murder or manslaughter. Unlike Republicans’ so-called ‘IVF Protection’ bill, our Right to IVF Act would actually protect the freedom to access or provide IVF nationwide, while making these treatments more affordable for the millions of American families—including military families and Veterans—who are experiencing infertility across the country.”

“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,” said Senator Duckworth upon introducing her Right to IVF Act alongside Senators Murray and Booker. “Struggling with infertility is painful enough—every American deserves the right to access the treatment and tools they need to build the family of their dreams without the fear of being prosecuted for murder or manslaughter. Unlike Republicans’ so-called ‘IVF Protection’ bill, our Right to IVF Act would actually protect the freedom to access or provide IVF nationwide, while making these treatments more affordable for the millions of American families—including military families and Veterans—who are experiencing infertility across the country.”

“After clamoring to get on the record in support of IVF after the Alabama Supreme Court ruling, Senate Republicans had a chance to prove that claimed support by simply getting out of the way of our efforts to pass my bill that would protect IVF access nationwide—and they blocked it,” said Senator Duckworth on the floor this past February after Republicans blocked her Access to Family Building Act. “It’s a nightmarish blend of hypocrisy and misogyny that the very people who claim to be ‘defending family values’ are the ones trying to enact dystopian policies that would prevent Americans from starting their own families.”

“If a version of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling had been in place back when I was going through IVF, I might’ve been forced to implant three non-viable embryos… I might’ve been forced to suffer through three more miscarriages… or else risk me or my doctor being convicted of manslaughter for discarding them,” continued Senator Duckworth in her February floor speech on IVF. “That’s the kind of extremism and level of cruelty we’re facing. That’s the kind of future we’re fighting to prevent—where frozen embryos have more rights than the women who’d carry them.”

“Republican attacks on reproductive rights since the Dobbs decision have not stopped at abortion—their reckless crusade to criminalize basic reproductive health care and give embryos the exact same rights as living, breathing human beings has put IVF in jeopardy and put hopeful parents’ dreams of building a family at risk,” said Senator Murray upon introducing the Right to IVF Act alongside Senators Duckworth and Booker. “We saw what happened in Alabama, where families’ lives were thrown into chaos and their dreams of having children ripped away because of extreme Republican ideology—this should never happen anywhere in America. Unlike GOP legislation that would not protect IVF and is only a PR tool for Republicans to hide their extremism, our Right to IVF Act would actually protect Americans from attempts to restrict IVF and would allow more people to access these vital services at a lower cost.”

“This isn’t some surprise—the Alabama Supreme Court decision is Republican ideology in action,” said Senator Murray on the floor this past February after Republicans blocked her and Senator Duckworth’s Access to Family Building Act. “So, spare me the empty statements… Unless you’re actually going to work with us to protect IVF—please, save your breath… women have had their dreams shattered because Republicans believe a frozen embryo kept in storage at an IVF clinic is the same—and should have the exact same rights—as a living, breathing, human person.

“Many of the same Republicans saying they care now about IVF are literally, right now, cosponsors of legislation that would enshrine fetal personhood into law and make IVF unavailable nationwide,” continued Senator Murray in her February floor speech on IVF. “You cannot support IVF and support fetal personhood laws. They are fundamentally incompatible.”

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