Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA), lead sponsor of the bill Access to Family Formation Lawannounced Thursday that a petition to be exempt from the bill garnered 155 signatures in the first 24 hours after it was submitted. In total, the petition has garnered about 190 signatures.
“This immunity petition is a chance for all members of the House to show where they stand,” House Democratic Leader Katherine Clark (R-Massachusetts) said at a press conference. “Will Republicans stand up for freedom? Will they stand with tens of thousands of aspiring parents? Or will they continue to side with Donald Trump and MAGA extremists?”
This bill:
- Codify Legal Rights in IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies, and give insurers a legal right to cover them.
- Allows the Department of Justice and private citizens to sue state and local government officials Limiting access to IVF.
The bill was introduced after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that frozen embryos are considered children and made their destruction a crime. The ruling led to several clinics across the state, including the state’s largest health system, being barred from using the technology. Temporarily suspend IVF procedures Because they feared legal repercussions until Congress passed an emergency solution.
The ruling has put Republicans on the defensive, as they say they fully support IVF while largely avoiding its underlying implications. The personality of the fetusMany of them also support this.
To apply for discharge 218 signatures To make the bill mandatory, it would need signatures from every House Democrat, plus at least some Republicans. The bill has only four Republican co-sponsors, none of whom have signed the petition so far.
