Republicans are stripping away our reproductive freedoms.
Dear MoveOn member,
A week ago, the Republican-stacked Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) are considered children under state law, overturning a lower court's ruling.1 This move effectively bans IVF as fertility treatment in the state. The ruling is the latest assault by Republicans to control our bodies and strip away our freedoms.
And it's no coincidence that Chief Justice Tom Parker has been described as the architect of the effort to overturn Roe v. Wade.2 He's a decadeslong anti-abortion activist and Christian nationalist, who is more motivated to enforce right-wing religious doctrine than uphold the Constitution. Explicitly weaponizing religious beliefs, Chief Justice Parker made clear that this ruling wasn't about protecting our freedoms or our health but about imposing an extreme Christian nationalist vision on our country.3
Republicans overturned Roe v. Wade, decimating abortion rights and further obstructing access across the country. They're trying to ban mifepristone, a safe, effective abortion drug, nationwide. Now, they're coming for IVF. And we know it won't stop here. Congress needs to take swift action before other Republican-led states with abortion bans quickly follow suit.
Will you sign the petition to demand Congress take action to protect our freedom to use reproductive technologies like IVF? Congress must act and ensure that people have the right to form families how and when they wish.
IVF is a fertility treatment that has become increasingly used in recent years for families that otherwise may not be able to have children. And now, people undergoing IVF in Alabama don't know if they will be able to continue accessing this critical care. Since the ruling, the University of Alabama and two other providers have paused IVF treatment. In response to the ruling, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama stated, "Justices have crossed a critical boundary to assign personhood to something created in a lab that exists outside of a human body."4
While Alabama is the first to rule that frozen embryos are children under state law, the ripple effects of this ruling will be felt around the country, as Republicans in other states will very likely race to push "personhood" laws that give more rights and protections to eggs than to the people forced to carry pregnancies. That's why Congress must take action immediately.
Democratic Senators Tammy Duckworth and Patti Murray have proposed the Right to Build Families Act, which would protect your freedom to use reproductive technologies and the rights of providers to assist you.5 Congress should pass this bill immediately to counter Alabama and other Republican-led states that follow suit.
And ultimately, Congress must codify the right to abortion care into law and invest in policies that expand access to all forms of reproductive health care to all who need it.
Click here to add your name to this petition to protect IVF and families rights, and then pass it along to your friends.
Thanks for all you do.
–Justin, Kelsey, Alexis, Julia, and the rest of the team.
1. "What’s next after the Alabama ruling that counts IVF embryos as children?" AP News, February 22, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/187716?t=6&akid=376045%2E40999114%2EyJB2fu
2. "The Alabama Chief Justice Who Invoked God in Deciding the Embryo Case," The New York Times, February 22, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/187717?t=8&akid=376045%2E40999114%2EyJB2fu
3. "Bible-quoting Alabama chief justice sparks church-state debate in embryo ruling," AP News, February 23, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/187722?t=10&akid=376045%2E40999114%2EyJB2fu
4. Ibid.
5. "Common process by which people get pregnant is in legal jeopardy. Some Democrats want to legally protect IVF," USA Today, December 15, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/187718?t=12&akid=376045%2E40999114%2EyJB2fu
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