Republican U.S. Sens. Katie Britt of Alabama and Ted Cruz of Texas introduced a bill Monday that would federally protect in-vitro fertilization treatments.
According to the bill, if states prohibit IVF treatment, they would not be eligible to receive federal Medicaid funding. Britt said in a release that this legislation is pro-woman and pro-family. According to the bill, about 2 percent of children are born through IVF.
“As a mom, I know firsthand that there is no greater blessing than our children, and IVF helps families across our nation experience the joyous miracle of life, grow, and thrive,” she said.
The legislation would allow states to enact health and safety regulations for IVF clinics.
In an op-ed by Britt and Cruz published in the Wall Street Journal, the senators said the bill comes after the February Alabama Supreme Court ruling that ruled embryos to be considered children under the law.
“While the Alabama Legislature after the court’s decision promptly reiterated that IVF is protected, federal legislation would eliminate any ambiguity that might arise from future state-level judicial interpretations,” the senators wrote.
Alabama lawmakers are expected to revisit, or at least attempt to revisit, the in vitro fertilization legislation hastily passed in March to offer some legal protection to the state’s few IVF service providers. Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, told Alabama Daily News that there are conversations happening, but details aren’t yet available.
Collins carried the House stop-gap bill in March that gave criminal and civil immunity to IVF clinics following the February ruling that embryos had some of the same legal protections as people under state law. Complicating the matter is a 2018 constitutional amendment that said it’s the policy of the state to “support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children, including the right to life.”
Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, sponsored Senate Bill 159, which protects IVF in Alabama. He told ADN he is not sure if the legislation will be revisited next session.
“There’s so many ethical dilemmas and we’re gonna get back into when life begins,” he said. “It’s just a lot of ethical concerns that we need to evaluate before we start just writing another bill.”
Collins thinks a new bill that defines embryos inside and outside the womb could be written without a Constitutional amendment, but Democrat Rep. Chris England of Tuscaloosa disagreed.
He said if embryos have a right to life, there is no way the state can pass a statute that gives doctors and IVF clinics immunity to destroy embryos as needed.
“And I think if you look at some of the recent court activity, that’s where we’re headed,” he said.
Democrats in the U.S. Senate had their own IVF protection bill in February, in response to the ruling in Alabama, but it was blocked by Republicans.
In the WSJ op-ed, Britt and Cruz reference a CBS poll that showed 86 percent of Americans believe IVF should be legal. They call on their colleagues to support the legislation.
“This is an opportunity to unite on a shared bipartisan commitment to life, family and personal liberty by protecting access to IVF treatments in every corner of America,” the senators wrote.
Alabama Daily News’ Mary Sell contributed to this report.