Rep. Mark Molinaro (New York) was one of the first Republicans to sponsor a bill defending IVF treatments following an Alabama ruling that puts frozen embryos on the same legal basis as children under state law. It became.
Molinaro co-sponsored the Family Building Access Act, a bill that would protect access to IVF, given that “millions of Americans rely on IVF to have children,” Molinaro said in a statement Wednesday. It was announced that.
The bill was introduced by Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pennsylvania, and companion bills were introduced in the Senate by Sens. Patty Murray, D-Washington, and Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois.
According to Molinaro’s office, the Family Building Access Act would establish a legal right to access in vitro fertilization and would “override state efforts to limit services and help people trying to start or grow a family.” “We will ensure that parents and their doctors who wish to do so are not penalized.”
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Congressman Mark Molinaro (New York) leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club, Tuesday, January 30, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
“I was troubled by the Alabama ruling restricting IVF treatment and said at the time that I opposed it,” Molinaro said in a statement. “I am a parent with personal experience with IVF and I support all women and families who choose IVF to bring life into this world. Protecting IVF is just common sense.”
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) introduced legislation earlier this month to protect IVF treatments after a state Supreme Court ruling in February prompted some fertility clinics to pause the procedure. signed.
![Containers containing frozen embryos and sperm are removed from liquid nitrogen storage](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/02/1200/675/Alabama-IVF.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
A container containing frozen embryos and sperm stored in liquid nitrogen is removed at a fertility clinic in Fort Myers, Florida, on Tuesday, October 2, 2018. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled on Friday, February 16, 2024, that frozen embryos can be used. They are considered children under state law. (AP Photo/Lynn Sladke, File)
The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled in a wrongful death lawsuit that frozen embryos created during infertility treatment should be considered to have the same status as children under state law.
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The ruling comes in two wrongful death lawsuits brought by three couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed when a patient at a fertility clinic entered the storage area, removed the embryos from a cryogenic freezer and dropped them on the ground. It was given down.
![President Trump raises his fist at South Carolina rally](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/03/1200/675/GettyImages-2034014875.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Former President Donald Trump gestures to supporters after speaking at the Get Out The Vote rally at Winthrop University on February 23, 2024 in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He said he supports access to IVF following the Alabama ruling. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The decision prompted a flurry of warnings about the potential impact on freezing embryos and infertility treatments, which courts had previously considered property.
As the Alabama ruling reignites debate over abortion during the 2024 presidential election, former President Trump said at a rally in South Carolina in late February that he “strongly supports the availability of IVF.” Stated.
Another House Republican, Rep. Mike Carey (R-Ohio), told Fox News Digital and Fox News Radio last week that the bill would expand access to IVF for families who cannot afford it. He said he is working on creating one.
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“There will be tax incentives to help disadvantaged people access IVF, and I think that’s important because people who want to have a child have the opportunity to have a child. Because I think that IVF should be given. [a] That’s the way to do it,” Carey said Thursday.
Fox News’ Liz Elkind and The Associated Press contributed to this report.