House Republicans say they support IVF but are divided over how to protect it
House Republicans said they emphatically support in vitro fertilization but they don't agree on how and whether Congress should protect IVF.
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — House Republicans said they emphatically support in vitro fertilization at their annual policy retreat here this week. But they’re all over the map on how to protect access to the treatment that has helped millions of families have children.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Congress doesn’t have a role to play — it’s an issue that should be handled by individual states. But he and more than 120 other Republicans have signed on to legislation from Rep. Alex Mooney of West Virginia that could threaten the use of IVF for pregnancy, a process in which unused embryos or those with abnormalities can be discarded.
Meanwhile, Republicans facing tough re-election bids this fall are grappling with the IVF issue in the wake of the Alabama Supreme Court’s stunning ruling last month that embryos are considered children, raising questions about the legality of IVF and sparking a national debate.
Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif., who represents a swing district in Orange County, withdrew her co-sponsorship from Mooney’s Life at Conception Act, saying she backs IVF. And Wednesday, freshman Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y., who represents a competitive Hudson Valley-based district, became the first Republican to sign on to House Democrats’ bill to protect access to IVF, calling it “just commonsense.”
The bill’s Democratic author, Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, said that Molinaro exhibited a “profile in courage” and that she welcomes other Republicans who want to get on board.
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