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Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation aimed at protecting access to infertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilization, amid growing concern that anti-abortion bills may threaten access in some states.
On Thursday, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Pennsylvania Rep. Susan Wild plan to introduce the Access to Family Building Act, which would make it a statutory right for patients to access assisted reproductive technology, such as in vitro fertilization or IVF, continue treatments and retain authority over how sperm or egg cells are used during such treatments.
“It will be in federal code that you have this right,” said Duckworth, who has been outspoken about her own experience using IVF to grow her family.
IVF is a form of assisted reproductive technology in which eggs are fertilized by sperm cells in a lab and the resulting embryos transferred into a person’s uterus in hopes of leading to pregnancy.
The new bill could supersede states’ strict abortion laws when it comes to discarding a patient’s embryos during the IVF process or even terminating a pregnancy when a patient is implanted with multiple...