House Democrats have launched a waiver petition to force a vote on legislation codifying the right to in vitro fertilization (IVF) nationwide, in a longshot attempt to put Republicans on the spot over reproductive rights.
Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.), lead sponsor of the Home Building Access Act, said Thursday that the petition to waive the bill received 155 signatures in the first 24 hours it was open. In total, the petition has almost 190 signatures.
“This discharge petition is an opportunity for every member of the House to make their point,” House Democratic Leader Katherine Clark (Mass.) said during a news conference. “Will Republicans stand up for freedom? Will they stand with tens of thousands of aspiring parents? Or will they continue to support Donald Trump and MAGA extremism?”
The legislation would codify a legal right to in vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technologies and say that insurers have a legal right to cover them.
It would also allow the Department of Justice and private individuals to sue any state or local government official for restricting access to in vitro fertilization.
The bill was introduced following an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that concluded that frozen embryos are considered children, criminalizing their destruction. The decision led several clinics in the state, including the state’s largest health system, to halt IVF operations for fear of legal repercussions until the legislature approved an emergency solution.
The decision put Republicans on the defensive. They went out of their way to say they fully support IVF, but they largely avoided the underlying implications about fetal personality, which many of them also support.
Democrats have been campaigning for reproductive rights ahead of the November elections. House Democrats’ campaign arm has accused Republicans of wanting to ban IVF if they win and points to Rep. Matt Rosendale’s (R-Mont.) anti-IVF stance as a warning.
The discharge petitions need 218 signatures to force action, meaning a handful of Republicans would need to sign on, as would all House Democrats. The legislation has only four Republican co-sponsors and none of them have signed the petition to date.
Republicans have not signed any Democrat-led waiver petitions this session of Congress, including a similar one on legislation protecting access to contraception.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
