Dear John,
Senate Democrats are continuing their unnecessary crusade to supposedly protect IVF (which is not under threat in the U.S.) by moving toward a vote on a four-bill package called the Right to IVF Act. This package would establish a statutory right to “fertility treatments” including artificial reproductive technology (ART), broadly defined, fund such procedures for service members and veterans (including same-sex and unmarried couples) with taxpayer dollars, and mandate insurance coverage of ART procedures nationwide.
This bill is expected to receive a vote on the Senate floor TOMORROW, June 12th.
Send a message to your senators now, asking them to oppose this bill!
Despite the bill’s name, due to its expansive language, the procedures included could go far beyond in-vitro fertilization (IVF). For example, it could legalize human cloning (which is illegal in several states); gene editing and the creation of three-parent embryos (prohibited under federal law); the creation of human-animal chimeras and other forms of human embryo experimentation; surrogacy, including commercial gestational surrogacy (illegal in several states); and the buying, selling, and destruction of human embryos nationwide.
Another section of the bill that provides ART services to service members and veterans states that such services shall be provided to couples regardless of “sex, sex characteristics, gender identity, sexual orientation, infertility diagnosis, or marital status,” mandating that the DOD provide ART to same-sex and unmarried couples at taxpayer expense. This would further enable the creation of children for the purpose of placing them in intentionally motherless and fatherless homes.
Other sections of this package mandate insurance coverage for ART procedures for group and individual health insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid (if such plans provide coverage for obstetric care) and Federal Employment Health Benefits plans (health insurance for federal employees), respectively. Additionally, the bill states that coverage should be provided whether or not an individual has been diagnosed with infertility, meaning that insurance plans will be forced to cover ART procedures for same-sex couples and couples seeking ART for eugenic purposes, including sex selection and trait selection such as eye color. There are no exceptions or protections offered for religious employers, raising concerns that such employers may be forced to provide coverage for ART procedures against their conscience
The so-called Right to IVF Act establishes a “right” to and mandates public and private funding for ethically questionable ART procedures, benefitting the ART industry over the rights of parents, children (both born and unborn), and religious employers.
Click here to send a message to your senators asking them to put children first by opposing this bill!
Sincerely,
Your Friends at FRC Action
