For more on House Republicans’ battle over IVF, tune into CNN’s “Inside Politics with Manu Raju” on Sunday at 8 a.m. ET.
Washington
CNN
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Several House Republicans have been working behind the scenes to persuade House Speaker Mike Johnson to put a pro-IVF bill to a vote before the November election, but told CNN that so far their efforts have been ignored or even rejected.
The direct pressure campaign by members across the Republican conference has intensified in recent weeks as Republicans in hotly contested races seek to demonstrate support for in vitro fertilization, which Democrats have questioned in the wake of an Alabama Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that found frozen embryos are human and that those who destroy them could be held liable for wrongful death.
According to conversations with several involved lawmakers, Johnson has resisted so far taking up legislation on the issue out of concern that he would be unable to pass it given his slim Republican majority and out of fear that lawmakers would be politically disadvantaged. They also acknowledge that Johnson is trying to balance weaker supporters of fertility treatment with small-government deficit hawks who resist mandates and conservatives who oppose IVF for religious reasons.
One Republican lawmaker described Johnson as “smoothing” the situation by being deliberately vague about whether he would introduce an IVF bill.
“You’re dealing with people with old ideas and tough constituencies, and you know they’re not going to budge,” he said of Johnson and House Republican leadership.
Another Republican said Johnson simply said “no” when asked about legislation to support IVF, telling CNN, “He’s been a lot more forthright with me.”
“Multiple members have been talking to leadership about IVF,” the congressman added. “Multiple members have introduced bills on IVF, especially if you’re in a purple district or a swing district, IVF would really help, but they haven’t done anything yet. I don’t know why.”
Meanwhile, a third Republican who made the case to Johnson that House Republicans need to take a public stance on IVF said hesitancy among party leaders is starting to thaw.
“My party has been hesitant to move forward with this kind of bill, but I think we are increasingly understanding the need for it,” the lawmaker said.
With the House of Commons due to meet only a few weeks before the presidential election, Johnson’s first priority was keeping the government alive beyond the Sept. 30 deadline, which already faces serious obstacles.
But when asked about conversations he has had with party members and whether he would support bringing an IVF bill before the election, Johnson told CNN: “I think we’ve been consistent. Our party supports IVF in every way possible. If there’s an opportunity to vote on it in the legislature, we certainly will. We’ll have to wait and see. I’m busy with a lot of other things, but I’ll look into it.”
Six months earlier, Prime Minister Johnson had denied the need for IVF legislation, saying he believed there was no role for Parliament to play.
Republicans have been on the defensive over their messaging on reproductive health care since Roe v. Wade was overturned more than two years ago, and many have sought to push a pro-IVF message to win back moderate women in the wake of the Alabama Supreme Court decision.
Former President Donald Trump cast himself as a “leader for IVF, or fertility” during this week’s presidential debate and introduced policies to subsidize the treatment.
“President Trump has been clear, I have been clear: We are pro-IVF. We are pro-babies and pro-family,” House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik told CNN after the debate.
But Republicans have so far been unable to translate that support into legislative action. In June, Senate Republicans killed a bill that would have guaranteed access to IVF nationwide, arguing that the legislation was unnecessary. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to bring the bill up for a vote again before the election to keep pressure on Senate Republicans.
House Republicans expect there to be across-the-board support for IVF in Congress, but some were less enthusiastic about voting for a pro-IVF bill, especially with an election coming up.
“I’m not interested in this topic,” Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky told CNN.
Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said Republicans should focus on government funding, inflation and the U.S.-Mexico border, “and then get the hell out of there.”
And Ohio Republican Rep. Brad Wenstrup, who is also a physician, told CNN that while the treatment is legal, “it’s not preferred in my family. My family adopted a daughter after our son was born.”
Republican Pro-IVF Position
Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa last week became the latest Republican to introduce a bill in support of IVF.
Miller-Meeks said the bill, which would provide a fully refundable tax credit of up to $30,000 for IVF costs, grew out of ongoing conversations with other Republican women lawmakers that galvanized over the summer.
“We’ve joked about it a lot,” Miller-Meeks told CNN, “and we’ve talked about bills. And ultimately, for me, I’m going to introduce a bill because I’m tired of hearing criticism from opponents about something that we support and that the vast majority of Americans support.”
In the wake of the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision, a flurry of other bills and resolutions have been introduced, with a wide range of effects and policy goals.
Democratic Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania led a bill to make IVF right-to-use legislation in January. Wild had been looking for Republican cosponsors to introduce the bill in 2023, but did not receive any GOP support until the Alabama ruling, a source familiar with the process told CNN. There are currently four Republican cosponsors out of 202 cosponsors, but none of them supported Wild’s attempt in July to bypass GOP leadership and force a floor vote.
Most of the Republican-led efforts in the House, led by Reps. Lori Chavez Deremer of Oregon and Nancy Mace of South Carolina, have been largely symbolic, nonbinding resolutions expressing support for IVF. Republican Rep. Zach Nunn of Iowa has joined Wilde in introducing a bipartisan bill to protect access to fertility treatments.
“I feel strongly about this,” Nunn, who has discussed the bill with House Republican leaders, told CNN. “This is the right step forward. Regardless of party affiliation, IVF and family-building coverage should be something every American can pursue.”
In response to other efforts in support of IVF in the House, Wilde told CNN, “I call on all of my colleagues, Democratic and Republican, who claim to support IVF to put their money where their mouth is and their actions, to co-sponsor my bill and sign a discharge petition to force a vote on the bill.”
Rank-and-file members across the conference, not just in battleground districts, agreed that voting for pro-IVF bills would be beneficial for Republicans, especially before the election.
“I think it would be very helpful to the party to make a public announcement,” Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas told CNN.
Republican Rep. Corey Mills of Florida agreed, saying, “I think this is an important vote. It shows where we stand.”
But even those who support IVF don’t see the need for Republicans to force any vote on IVF, and some argue that forcing a vote before the election is just a political ploy.
“I still don’t understand why Republicans are being asked if they support IVF,” said Republican Rep. Byron Donald of Florida.
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who supports IVF, poured cold water on the idea that Republicans could vote on any kind of IVF bill before the election, especially given the current government funding crunch, saying, “There’s nothing we can do at this point.”