Senate Republicans Block Bill to Protect IVF After Alabama Ruling

Source: Bloomberg

February 28, 2024 at 5:11 PM EST
Updated on February 28, 2024 at 5:26 PM EST


GOP senators blocked a Democrat-led effort Wednesday to federally protect in-vitro fertilization, downplaying the effects a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling will have on their electoral odds in November.

Mississippi Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith blocked the bill, contending it goes “far beyond IVF” and contended it would allow the genetic engineering of human embryos, commercial surrogacy and even “human-animal chimeras.”

But Democrats doubled down on their message to voters that conservative opposition to reproductive rights will endanger women’s access to more than just abortion. Democrats are sounding the alarm on potential effects on fertility treatments, contraception and more if Republicans win the House, Senate or White House later this year.

The Alabama Supreme Court ruling drew criticisms from both sides of the aisle, with members of both parties highlighting the importance of IVF for families struggling with fertility issues. But while Democrats urged swift legislative action to protect IVF on a federal level, many Republicans said that power belonged to the states.

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This was Sen. Tammy Duckworth's legislation that she wanted to pass by "unanimous consent". But doing that motion means that you just need one "objection" and that forces it through the "regular order" (cloture, debate, vote, etc).