Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) took to the podium at a Capitol Hill press conference on July 23, where she was joined by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

They announced they were reintroducing the Right to IVF Act. This is a bill that promotes and subsidizes in vitro fertilization. It is sponsored by Duckworth and cosponsored by every other Democrat in the Senate.

Duckworth started the press conference by attacking President Donald Trump for not following through on a statement he made during his 2024 campaign that, under his next administration, “your government will pay for — or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for — all costs associated with IVF treatment.”

“So, I’m here today to call b—sh—,” she said, according to the CSPAN video of the press conference. “I’m here today to call out another one of Trump’s broken promises, another lie from the president of the United States, another middle finger to American families.”

She then went on to attack Senate Republicans — using similar language.

“All I’m asking is for their actions to finally match their campaign promises,” she said. “Otherwise, once again, all they are showing is that their claims of supporting IVF are pure and utter b—sh—. Thank you, and with that, I’m going to hand it over to Leader Schumer.”

Schumer then took to the podium.

“Thank you, Senator Duckworth, for your strong, heartfelt and beautiful words,” Schumer said to start his remarks.

This bill Schumer is promoting would codify a “right” not simply to create human beings outside the womb but to genetically screen them, freeze them or throw them away.

“An individual,” it says, “has a statutory right under this title, without prohibition, limitation, interference, or impediment, to the extent that such prohibition, limitation, interference, or impediment in any way or degree obstructs, delays, or affects commerce over which the Federal Government has jurisdiction, to … make decisions and arrangements regarding the donation, testing, use, storage, or disposition of reproductive genetic material, such as oocytes, sperm, fertilized eggs, and embryos.”

It also says a “health care provider has a statutory right under this title, without prohibition, limitation, interference, or impediment … to … provide for, or assist with, the testing, storage, or disposition of reproductive genetic material, such as oocytes, sperm, fertilized eggs and embryos.”

During IVF, what kind of “testing” is done on “fertilized eggs and embryos”? What kind of “storage” or “disposition” might they encounter?

“Preimplantation genetic testing (or PGT) is a type of genetic test healthcare providers can perform on embryos created through in-vitro fertilization,” explains the Cleveland Clinic. “It allows your fertility specialist to screen embryos for certain genetic or chromosomal conditions before they transfer the embryo to your uterus.”

“Examples of chromosomal disorders include Down syndrome, Turner syndrome and Patau syndrome,” says the Cleveland Clinic.

The testing can also be used to determine if the unborn child is a girl or boy.

“It can also help couples select the embryo that has the sex they desire,” says the Cleveland Clinic.

So, what happens to an unborn child conceived through IVF who has a syndrome — or a sex — the parents do not want their child to have? Or what if an embryo is part of a surplus created by the IVF process that the parents decide they do not currently want to bring to birth?

Harvard Health Publishing posted an article in 2021 that summarized what might be done to this newly conceived child if it is not placed in the mother’s womb.

It starts with freezing.

“Estimates vary on the number of cryopreserved embryos in the United States, but it’s likely to be in the hundreds of thousands,” says this article.

“Having ‘extras’ in deep freeze may offer comfort, kind of a psychological insurance policy after years of disappointment and loss,” it says.

“You can discard your remaining embryos,” it says. “The word ‘discard’ sounds harsh, but you are not prepared to parent another child and do not see donating them as an option.”

“You can decide to have an additional child,” it says. “You look at the family you have and decide it is worth undergoing at least one more embryo transfer before making a final decision to discard.”

“You can decide to donate your embryos to science,” says this Harvard Health Publishing article.

Or: “You can donate your embryos to another person or couple.”

It also notes that there are “many who have ‘abandoned’ their embryos. … They stop paying storage fees; they fail to respond to outreach calls and letters.”

The Right to IVF Act, says a press release issued by Duckworth, would “expand IVF coverage for military families and require all employer-sponsored insurance programs to cover IVF.”

“The Secretary of Defense,” says the text of the bill, “shall make available assisted reproductive technology, intrauterine insemination, and counseling to a member of the uniformed services or a spouse, partner, or gestational surrogate of such a member. … In the case of in vitro fertilization treatment furnished under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall furnish to an individual under such paragraph — (A) not more than three completed oocyte retrievals; and (B) unlimited embryo transfers.”

At their press conference, Schumer joined Duckworth in attacking Senate Republicans for their response to this bill. “Now, Republicans cannot say they are pro-family and then oppose IVF,” said Schumer. “That’s exactly what they’ve done. Last Congress they voted against our Right to IVF Act not once but twice.”

When this bill came up for a cloture vote in June 2024, it received only 48 of the 60 votes it needed to move to a final vote. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) were the only Republicans who voted to advance it. When it came up for another cloture vote in September 2024, Collins and Murkowski were again the only Republicans who sided with Duckworth and Schumer.

Republicans should keep blocking this horrendous bill — even if it means Duckworth will continue to attack them with what Schumer calls “beautiful words.”

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