[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 100 (Thursday, June 13, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4061-S4062]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Right to IVF Act

  Now, Mr. President, on IVF, for years, as the hard right had set 
their sights on Roe v. Wade, many of us kept hearing the same thing 
again and again and again: Roe can't possibly ever be overturned. We 
were told that worrying about Roe was sensationalism, that its repeals 
were so remote a prospect that worrying about it was much ado about 
nothing. Many on the Republican side who voted repeatedly against 
codifying Roe used the excuse that Roe was not in danger, and they used 
it as an easy way out. The same could happen to IVF.
  Of course, that all came to an end 2 years ago, when a MAGA majority 
on the Supreme Court did precisely what the anti-abortion movement has 
wanted for decades--the reversal of Roe and the elimination of a 
constitutional right to an abortion.
  Today, we live in a country where tens of millions of women are 
forbidden by law from making the very same personal decisions about 
their bodies. This is precisely what many Republicans, who are scared 
of their own bad views on abortion, assured us would never happen. And 
yet, here we are--in a modern-day dark age for women's fundamental 
freedoms.
  Worst of all, the anti-abortion movement is not yet finished. Now 
that Roe is gone, they have set their sights on a new target: in vitro 
fertilization.
  So, today, the question before the Senate is very simple: Do we agree 
that

[[Page S4062]]

Americans should be free to use IVF if they want to, yes or no? If yes, 
then the only right answer is to vote in favor of today's bill.
  The Right to IVF Act is common sense and necessary. It establishes a 
nationwide right to IVF and eliminates barriers for the millions of 
families looking to use IVF to start and to grow a family.
  Protecting IVF should be the easiest ``yes'' vote the Senate has 
taken all year. Republicans cannot say they are pro-family and then 
vote against protecting IVF.
  It is very fitting that we take this important vote today of all 
days. Here in the Senate, we are voting to protect women's reproductive 
freedoms, but on the other side of Capitol Hill, Donald Trump and his 
Republican sycophants will be talking about tax breaks for the very 
rich, cuts to the middle class, and packing our courts with more 
radical judges. The contrast couldn't be clearer. Look at the contrast. 
Democrats are protecting IVF; Donald Trump and the Republicans are 
protecting wealthy tax breaks. Which side is for the American people? 
It is obvious.
  Look, as we prepared this IVF bill, many of our Republican colleagues 
who hate talking about the issue have made the same panicked arguments 
they made about Roe: It is a nonissue; it will never happen; that we 
are blowing things out of proportion; that IVF, they say, is simply not 
under threat and today's bill is unnecessary.
  Senators Cruz and Britt even organized a statement yesterday, signed 
by all Republican Senators, saying that of course they support IVF. But 
they certainly won't be voting on a bill that protects it. Easy to see 
through that one, isn't it? How strange--all 49 Republicans are willing 
to sign a piece of paper saying they like IVF, but none of them seem to 
be willing to actually vote for a bill that protects IVF. It shows you 
how afraid they are of the issue, how they are tied in a knot by the 
MAGA hard right on choice, and they can't do anything the American 
people want.
  This is simple: If you really support access to IVF, vote to protect 
access to IVF.
  America, watch what our Republican colleagues do, not what they say. 
Again, this is not a show vote; this is a ``show us who you are'' vote. 
Today, unfortunately, it seems our Republican colleagues are going to 
show us just who they are--people who will not protect a woman's right 
to IVF.
  To all those who claim that IVF is not under any threat, facts are 
stubborn things. Look at what happened yesterday when one of the most 
powerful anti-abortion voices in America officially came out against 
IVF. Look at what the Alabama Supreme Court did 4 months ago. Their 
decision on IVF led to a temporary halt on IVF services across the 
State of Alabama. This is a disastrous thing to see in 21st-century 
America.
  Senate Republicans who like to pretend that IVF is not under threat 
should have a word with the likes of the Heritage Foundation and Susan 
B. Anthony Pro-Life America. These organizations are some of the most 
influential authorities in conservatism and on the Republican Party, 
and they are making it plain as day that IVF is the hard right's next 
project.
  Just 1 week ago, the Susan B. Anthony league wrote to Senators 
telling them to oppose the Right to IVF Act. They said our bill 
protecting IVF was ``irredeemable'' and described IVF as a ``free for 
all.'' Their opposition to IVF uses identical language as those who 
oppose abortion.
  The Heritage Foundation--one of the most important conservative and 
most powerful conservative, most influential conservative 
organizations--is against our bill protecting IVF. They were even 
against the fig leaf messaging bill pushed by Senators Cruz and Britt, 
which didn't actually protect IVF at all. It seems the senior Senator 
from Texas, up for reelection, is running scared.
  One senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation predicted a 
generational shift in how the right views IVF, saying:

       Many of these pro-life Republicans are going to have to 
     think more deeply about what it means to be pro-life.

  The hard right is saying it as plain as day. First they targeted 
abortion, and now IVF is next. Sooner or later, Republican Senators are 
going to fall in line.
  That brings me back again to the very important vote happening today 
here on the Senate floor. As Donald Trump talks about protecting tax 
cuts for the rich, we Democrats in the Senate are talking about 
protecting women's reproductive freedoms. It is a fitting encapsulation 
of what is at stake this year.
  Finally, let me finish with this: Starting a family is one of the 
most sacred decisions a person can ever make. For many, it is what 
makes life worth living. Infertility makes that impossible for tens of 
millions of couples. About 10 percent of couples struggle with this 
medical condition. That is a heavy burden to carry if your deepest wish 
is to become a mom or a dad. It can be a source of worry, concern, even 
shame.
  IVF has thus been a miracle cure for generations of parents and kids. 
It has been part of my family's story. My beautiful grandchild was born 
thanks to the help of IVF, and I thank the Good Lord for it.
  So it is the stuff of nightmares that today the hard right in America 
is beginning to set their sights on preventing people from using IVF. 
We have a chance today to stop this madness before it takes full 
flight. We have a chance to pass a bill that says something very 
simple: IVF is a basic right and will be protected under law.
  To my Republican colleagues: The choice is yours. Americans are 
watching, parents back home are watching, and couples who want to 
become parents are watching too.
  Republicans cannot say they are pro-family but vote against 
protecting IVF. That is what is at stake today.
  I urge everyone to vote yes.
  Remember, America, this is not a show vote; it is a ``show us who you 
are'' vote.