GOP Senator Derails Bill to Protect Access to IVF

Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith stymied passage of a bill to protect IVF on Wednesday—saying it was full of “poison pills.” Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, put the legislation forth in the wake of an Alabama court ruling that declared embryos are babies, prompting at least three fertility clinics to halt treatments. In seeking to pass the bill, which would create federal protections for IVF, Duckworth used a procedure known as unanimous consent, which allows a single senator to derail it. Hyde-Smith claimed the measure went too far. “The bill before us today is a vast overreach that is full of poison pills that go way too far—far beyond ensuring legal access to I.V.F.,” the Mississippi lawmaker said. The Alabama court decision has put some Republicans in a difficult position because they say they support IVF but have also backed anti-abortion legislation that says life begins at the moment of conception. “This is really to call out my Republican colleagues,” Duckworth, who had two children through IVF, told The New York Times.