U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), the first Senator to give birth while serving in office, had both of her children using in vitro fertilization (IVF). Now Duckworth is pushing a bill that would guarantee a federal right to IVF treatments in every state.
After the February Alabama Supreme Court ruling that defined frozen embryos as “children” received widespread backlash for its effectively criminalizing IVF, many conservative Republicans including Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) defended IVF and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey swiftly signed into law a GOP-proposed bill protecting IVF treatments.
The ruling and its impact are controversial — many Republicans feared it was a loser at the ballot box — and Sen. Britt used part of her State of the Union rebuttal to say that the GOP supports IVF treatment, vowing that “we want to help moms and dads bring precious life into this world.”
Not a single one of these "IVF-loving" Republicans have come forward to cosponsor my bill to protect IVF nationwide. pic.twitter.com/cFaYsnhVF6
— Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) March 21, 2024
When asked today on Bloomberg if she has received support for her bill from Republicans, Duckworth replied, “Not at all. Not a single Republican including Senator Britt have come forward to co-sponsor my legislation.” Duckworth reiterated, “Not a single Republican who said they support IVF has come forward to co-sponsor the bill,” noting, archly, that 125 Republicans in the House co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act, which also refers to embryos as “unborn children.”
Duckworth says of her Republican colleagues: “They can’t have it both ways. You can’t say a fertilized egg is a human being with more rights than a woman, or at least equal rights.” She added: “The nature of IVF is that there are going to be nonviable fertilized eggs that must be discarded.”
[Note: There’s already a law in Louisiana that prohibits fertilized eggs (“human ovum”) from being destroyed — fertility clinics in the House Speaker Mike Johnson‘s state painstakingly ship the eggs out of state.]
Related: Katie Britt’s ‘Baby’ Voice Compared To Mike Johnson’s Wife’s — Here’s Why
Duckworth introduced the bill on the Senate floor for consideration under unanimous consent in February — Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi blocked it. Duckworth says she will re-introduce the bill later in the year.
If anyone is wondering who to blame for IVF access being at risk, it's Trump himself.
— Tammy Duckworth (@TammyDuckworth) March 15, 2024
It's clear that the man who brags about being responsible for killing Roe v. Wade is not a supporter of IVF—no matter how much he lies about it. https://t.co/9ZY57T53NI
As seen above, Duckworth blames former President Donald Trump for putting IVF access at risk. She writes: “It’s clear that the man who brags about being responsible for killing Roe v. Wade is not a supporter of IVF-no matter how much he lies about it.”
Below is Duckworth’s full interview with Bloomberg.
