United States Senate
CV NEWS FEED // Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-MS, blocked the Senate passage of a bill proposed by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-IL, that would create a “right to access in-vitro fertilization (IVF)” and surrogacy.
“The bill before us today is a vast overreach that is full of poison pills that go way too far,” Hyde-Smith said in announcing her objection.
She noted that the legislation went “[f]ar beyond ensuring legal access to IVF.” The act “explicitly waives the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and would subject religious and pro-life organizations to crippling lawsuits,” she said, adding that the bill would also “legalize human cloning.”
“It would legalize commercial surrogacy, including for young girls without parental involvement,” Hyde-Smith went on. “It would legalize gene-edited designer babies and lift the federal ban on the creation of three-parent embryos.”
The Hill indicated that Duckworth “sought to pass the bill by unanimous consent, which meant that any one senator could object and scuttle the effort.” In this case, Hyde-Smith was that senator.
In 2022, Hyde-Smith formerly objected to a similar pro-IVF bill Duckworth had proposed. Duckworth had also attempted to pass that bill by unanimous consent.
POLITICO reported:
In the wake of the scuttled vote, Democrats are more eager than ever to tie Republicans to the threat to IVF — part of their ongoing campaign to make the fallout of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade a top issue in the presidential and congressional election.
The Hill noted that, in spite of Hyde-Smith’s objection, Duckworth is still intent on getting her bill passed:
Duckworth said Wednesday she would ask Majority Leader Chuck Schumer [D-NY] for a roll call vote to put Republicans on record, even though it would likely take up weeks of floor time.
>> ‘THE DARK SIDE OF SCIENCE’: CRITICS SLAM DEM SENATOR’S PRO-IVF BILL <<
CatholicVote previously reported:
Critics of IVF have blasted Duckworth’s bill, explaining that it would enable the so-called “fertility industry” to run amok.
CatholicVote Director of Governmental Affairs Tom McClusky said Duckworth’s bill “would promote the dark side of science, allowing for human cloning and letting the IVF industry wantonly destroy human embryos with no repercussions.”
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The Heritage Foundation’s Emma Waters similarly called the bill “radical,” noting that it would “unleash IVF and commercial surrogacy.”
