A large majority of House Republicans released a budget proposal on Wednesday endorsing legislation that would threaten to make in vitro fertilization illegal nationwide. The move is a stunning turnabout after most of the party spent weeks voicing support for IVF following a controversial Alabama Supreme Court ruling that led providers in the state to halt the procedure.
The Republican Study Committee, an influential group that comprises nearly 80% of House Republicans, released its budget for fiscal year 2025, and it backed the Life at Conception Act. The legislation would grant full legal rights to embryos from “the moment of fertilization,” the same logic employed by the Alabama justices who effectively outlawed IVF in the state. The Senate version of the bill had a carve-out to protect IVF, but the House version did not — meaning access to IVF would be vulnerable to restrictions if it were enacted.
Many of the 120 House Republicans who are listed as co-sponsors of the Life at Conception Act have been reticent to discuss their thoughts on IVF since the Alabama ruling and the national outrage that followed. The National Republican Senatorial Committee urged members last month to “clearly state [their] support for IVF” and “publicly oppose any efforts to restrict access,” and Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said the same in her response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
But for conservative politicians, and particularly evangelicals, IVF is still a controversial procedure.
Also on Thursday, four members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, led by Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), sent a letter opposing a new Biden administration policy that will expand IVF access for unmarried veterans and veterans in same-sex marriages.
“A surplus of embryos will be created which are likely to result in abandoned, or cruelly discarded human life,” the letter reads.
These surprising attacks on IVF run counter to some other House Republican efforts….
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