Reed Rallies Ahead of Key Vote on IVF Access & Protections

While Democrats Clear & Consistent in Support of IVF – Trump Republicans Still Opposed

WASHINGTON, DC – Earlier this year, Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would enshrine a nationwide right to access in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment and other fertility care.  But after the Republican nominee for president reversed course on his support for access to IVF treatment, the U.S. Senate will take a second vote on the Right to IVF Act (S.4445).

U.S. Senator Jack Reed, a cosponsor of the Right to IVF Act, today joined with Senate Democrats on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in urging passage of the bill, which would provide nationwide protections for in vitro fertilization treatment and lower costs for fertility care and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) services nationwide.

“Instead of taking away people’s opportunity to have a child of their own, senators should do the right thing and help Americans who struggle with infertility have access to IVF treatment.  Passing the Right to IVF Act would guarantee women’s rights to reproductive care nationwide.  I urge Republicans to join us in advancing this critical bill,” said Senator Reed.

Americans’ access to IVF has been in jeopardy since 2022, when Trump-appointed justices on the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.  Then, in February of this year, the right-wing effort to ban or severely limit IVF was exposed when the state supreme court of Alabama ruled that frozen embryos are considered children under state law, prompting providers to halt fertility treatment and placing the medical fertility procedure at risk.  In June, the Senate held a vote to protect nationwide access to IVF, but every Republican except Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted against the measure and it failed.

However, as the national debate over reproductive rights continues to unfold, it is clear that the vast majority of Americans support nationwide IVF access and protections.

So this week, Senate Republicans will get another chance to vote on the Right to IVF Act.

“Trump has made all sorts of grandiose claims about everything under the sun. His latest is protecting IVF treatment, but it doesn’t matter what he says, it only matters what he and Republicans do.  The former president has no problem pressuring Republicans to get in line on all sorts of issues.  He forced them to change their views and stop a bipartisan bill to strengthen border security in its tracks.  Now we’ll see if Senate Republicans are willing to change their votes to actually match Trump’s rhetoric and protect the right to IVF treatment,” said Reed.

Infertility affects an increasing number of individuals.  According to the Endocrine Society, about 9 percent of men and about 11 percent of women of reproductive age have experienced fertility problems and about 2.3 percent of all infants born in the U.S. each year are conceived using assisted reproductive technology.

In 2022, 91,771 babies were born from IVF-assisted pregnancies, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, including 221 in Rhode Island.