U.S. Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama is joining Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to sponsor legislation that would protect in vitro fertilization by making protection of IVF a condition to receive federal funding through Medicaid. States that ban IVF would be ineligible to receive Medicaid funding under the proposed bill.
The Republican senators are reacting to the public backlash over a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that said embryos are pro- tected human life.
After the ruling, Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a bill that protects in vitro fertilization clinics from lawsuits.
“Families across the U.S. are understandably worries that in vitro fertilization is under threat,” Cruz wrote in a social media post Sunday on X.
“As Republic senators from Texas and Alabama, Sen. Katie Britt and I are united on many issues, including the need to protect both life and access to IVF treatments, which many families rely on to have children. This issue is close to our hearts as parents. To address these concerns, we will introduce a bill tomorrow to ensure IVF access is legally protected nationwide. The legislation would require, as a condition of receiving federal Medicaid funding, that states don’t prohibit IVF. While the Alabama Legislature after the court’s decision promptly reiterated that IVF is protected, federal legislation would eliminate any ambiguity that might arise from future state-level judicial interpretations.”
Cruz’s social media post was reposted by Britt.
The senators also wrote an op-ed for Sunday’s Wall Street Journal explaining the bill and appeared on Fox News Monday to discuss the legislation.
“The left is fearmongering, saying we are not going to protect IVF,” Britt said on ‘Fox and Friends.’ Britt said the bill would keep IVF legally protected.
“It’s pro-life, it’s pro- family, it’s pro-woman and I believe we are the party of families and we want to help people who are struggling with infertility, who want to see the miracle of life, help them achieve that and this going to do that,” Britt said.
Asked about the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that upended IVF treatments in the state, Britt said “there was judicial interpretation that caused a chill in the state but yeah the Alabama Legislature, that’s been named the most conservative legislature in the nation, quickly acted to make sure we affirmatively protected IVF.”
“We want to speak with one voice, get rid of the fearmongering,” Britt said.
Host Brian Kilmeade also referenced another bill sponsored by Britt that creates a federal website of pregnancy resources, which some critics said could be used to create a registry of pregnant women.
“It is false and that is fear- mongering from the left,” Britt said. “Unfortunately, you see the left trying to create stuff that isn’t there and unfortunately this is one of them. We were never going to have a registry of pregnant women. Ever.”
