WHITE SULFUR SPRINGS, West Virginia – House Republicans say they strongly support them in vitro fertilization at the annual policy retreat here this week. But they are on the map of how to protect access to treatment that helps millions of families have children.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Congress has no role to play — it’s a matter for individual states to decide. But he and more than 120 other Republicans signed a bill from West Virginia Rep. Alex Mooney that could threaten the use of IVF for pregnancy, a process in which unused embryos or those with abnormalities are discarded.
Meanwhile, Republicans, facing tough re-election bids this fall, are grappling with IVF challenge after IVF challenge. Amazing decision by the Alabama Supreme Court Last month, embryos were considered children, raising questions about the legality of IVF and sparking a national debate.
R-Calif., R-Calif., who represents a swing district in Orange County. Rep. Michelle Steel has withdrawn her co-sponsorship from Mooney’s Life at Conception Act, saying she supports IVF. And on Wednesday, freshman Rep. Marc Molinaro, RN.Y., who represents a competitive district based in the Hudson Valley. it happened the first republican Signing on to House Democrats’ bill protecting access to IVF, he called it “just common sense.”
The bill’s Democratic author, Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, said Molinaro presented a “bold profile” and welcomed other Republicans getting on board.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., a new mom who is the Democratic incumbent in 2022, briefly signed on to Wild’s IVF bill but withdrew her name last month. On Thursday, he introduced his own IVF protection legislation Right to Try IVF Act.
“I have always supported the responsible use of IVF. IVF is an amazing innovation of modern medicine and helps families to have children. … IVF is Pro-Life and has helped many families, many of whom I know personally,” Luna said.
GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican and the highest-ranking GOP woman in Congress, said vulnerable Republicans know their districts best and should talk about life issues on the campaign trail — IVF and abortion.
“We believe it’s important for our members to engage with this issue, and you know, as I think some potential candidates have done in the past, it’s important not to bury their heads in the sand,” Stefanik told a small group of reporters during three GOP meetings. -daily gathering at the historic Greenbrier resort.
“My position is that I’m pro-life, except for rape, incest … but I’ve always spoken about this issue with compassion, and I strongly support IVF,” Stefanik said, adding that she has recruited female GOP candidates during her tenure. Congress. “Members are going to sign bills that they support, and again, my position is that I support IVF, and House Republicans support IVF, the speaker strongly supports IVF, the top of the ticket, President Trump, supports IVF.”
Attendance at the GOP retreat is low, with one source saying about 100 lawmakers — less than half of the 219 Republicans in the House — took the four-hour bus ride to ruby-red West Virginia.
Both Molinaro and Luna said they would not attend the retreat, which featured guest speakers Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, and Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life, as well as Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Michael Herzog, and former Energy and Commerce Rep. Chairman Greg Walden.
Asked by NBC News about Molinaro’s sponsorship of the Democratic bill and Steel’s withdrawal from the Conceptual Life Act, Johnson said he fully supports IVF, but said it’s an issue for the states to decide.
“I don’t believe Congress should play a role here,” Johnson, an evangelical Christian who often quotes the Bible, said at a news conference Thursday. “I think it’s controlled by the states. Look, we support access to IVF. We believe, I personally, it’s my personal belief in the sanctity of life, and we know that Kelly and I know a lot of families that are beautiful. created by the use of this technology families.”
“We have to do it ethically and well, and I think the states are doing it well. But this is something we need to protect access to. I think every republican is committed to this idea,” he continued. “Life is a beautiful thing. I estimate that about 8 million babies have been born due to IVF since its inception in the late 70s. And that’s something that’s remarkable, and that’s something that we have to protect and preserve, and I think our party is certainly committed to that.
Democrats to feel strong After the Alabama decision and Supreme Court reversal, Congress must protect access to IVF. Roe v. Wade. They also believe reproductive rights issues will help propel them to victory in 2024. Republicans narrowly took control of the House and failed to win the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections, months after the Supreme Court’s Roe decision struck down the constitutional right to abortion.
The Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling last month that embryos created through in-vitro fertilization are children has sparked a fierce backlash across the country, prompting another round of GOP upheaval. In response, the GOP-controlled Alabama legislature passed a bill protecting IVF, and this month GOP Gov. Kay Ivey signed the law.
Wild, a Democrat who authored the IVF bill, praised Molinaro for joining the legislative initiative.
“Rep. Molinaro and any member of Congress who is willing to put aside partisan politics and do what is right for the American people deserves a bravery award. I hope he is the first of many Republicans to join me in the fight to protect IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies, and I’m glad this bill is finally getting the attention it deserves from across the aisle,” Wild told NBC News. .
“It reflects the support I’ve seen from people across the political spectrum in my community who are united in advocating for every hopeful parent’s ability to start or raise their family,” she said.
The campaign arm of House Democrats trying to defeat Molinaro this fall was less generous, emphasizing his support for certain restrictions on abortion.
“Marc Molinaro has publicly supported the repeal of Roe v. Wade, voted to penalize doctors for providing reproductive care and restricted abortion care for military personnel, and is on record as undisputedly supporting abortion restrictions,” DCCC spokeswoman Ellie Dougherty said. “No matter how hard he tries to spin it, Molinaro can’t erase his extreme agenda that attacks reproductive freedoms and endangers New York women.”