[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 1, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H2821]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HEALTHCARE UNDER ATTACK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 9, 2023, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Jacobs) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Ms. JACOBS. Madam Speaker, 3 years ago during my first year in 
Congress, I froze my eggs, which means I went through the initial 
stages of IVF, except that after egg retrieval, my eggs were frozen and 
stored.
  For weeks, I took hormone pills, gave myself injections, and went to 
the doctor for checkups. Then I had a procedure under twilight sedation 
to harvest my eggs.
  Many people use IVF if they are single or LGBTQ+, if they are older 
or experiencing fertility issues or have suffered multiple 
miscarriages, but no matter the reason for IVF, it should be a valid 
and viable choice for anyone.
  Unfortunately, IVF, like many reproductive healthcare options, is 
under attack in the courts and here in the Halls of Congress.
  Madam Speaker, 184 of my Republican colleagues have cosponsored 
legislation that supports ``fetal personhood'' giving embryos the same 
full legal rights as a person.

                              {time}  1800

  This fringe ideology is dangerous and could be used to prosecute 
people for miscarriages or for having an abortion and could potentially 
affect access to birth control, too.
  It could threaten access to IVF. During IVF, doctors often create 
more fertilized embryos than they plan on using, because some may be 
genetically unviable or result in miscarriages.
  I have 17 mature eggs frozen. Patients like me pay for the storage of 
our eggs or embryos, and eventually some embryos are usually donated 
for medical research or destroyed.
  Fetal personhood legislation, and even court rulings like the one in 
Alabama, could force patients to pay for storage of their embryos 
forever or leave clinics liable to criminal charges if embryos are 
damaged. That is why at least one IVF clinic in Alabama is ending the 
service.
  This is just the beginning. Last week, Supreme Court Justice Alito 
acknowledged fetal personhood in his line of questioning in Moyle v. 
United States, a case that could decide the future of emergency 
abortion care.
  I say this to my Republican colleagues: You can't support fetal 
personhood and support IVF access. You can't falsely claim to be pro-
life and then rip away people's dreams of having children, and you 
can't hide and try to bury your true end goal.
  I call on all 184 House Republicans, including Speaker Johnson, who 
have cosponsored legislation that would treat embryos as children and 
threaten access to IVF and other reproductive health services to come 
to the House floor and publicly remove their name from this bill, prove 
that they support IVF access, prove that they support families, and 
prove that they are not a hypocrite.
  Madam Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. 
Neguse).
  Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, first and foremost, let me thank 
Representative Jacobs for her determined leadership on this particular 
issue, among many others.
  I stand here today in solidarity with Representative Jacobs, 
Representative Wild, and the leaders of the Pro-Choice Caucus in the 
United States Congress to help shine a light, as my colleague from 
California has done so well, on House Republican hypocrisy.
  In February, as we now know, the Alabama Supreme Court issued a 
dangerous ruling that upended fertility care and opened the door for 
extremists to push through their destructive agenda.
  In the months that followed, as Representative Jacobs referenced, 
many House Republicans have rushed to this House floor, to any TV 
camera that they may be able to find, to profess their support for IVF, 
the reproductive technology in question.
  To them, I say the same admonition that Representative Jacobs 
offered: Their actions have clearly shown otherwise. They have already 
shown who they are and what they believe.
  Make no mistake, Madam Speaker. If given the chance, unfortunately, 
extreme Members of the Republican Conference will find every 
opportunity to deprive Americans of their fundamental freedoms, 
criminalizing abortion nationwide, prosecuting the doctors and nurses 
willing to perform lifesaving care, and pursuing this dangerous 
legislation that Representative Jacobs so eloquently described.
  We, of course, are already seeing the consequences of that extremism 
across the country, in Ohio, in Alabama, and in Florida, where just 
today, a ban on abortion past 6 weeks of pregnancy has taken effect.
  Madam Speaker, the American people will not stand for this. House 
Democrats will not stand for this. We will keep pushing back against 
these plans to drag Americans back to the laws of the last century, and 
we will keep working to protect the right of every woman to make her 
own healthcare decisions.
  I again salute Representative Jacobs, and, in particular, I want to 
salute Representative Wild, who introduced legislation that this body 
must pass in the days and weeks ahead. I salute her for her leadership 
and her determination on behalf of every American in our land.
  Ms. JACOBS. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________