CV NEWS FEED // Republican lawmakers are increasingly backing policies to expand in vitro fertilization (IVF), drawing opposition from pro-life organizations that warn of ethical concerns surrounding the reproductive technology, according to a report from World, a Christian news outlet.
The debate has intensified following an Alabama Supreme Court ruling last year that recognized frozen embryos as human children, a decision that led to the temporary suspension of IVF treatments at several clinics in the state, World reported. In response, Alabama’s Republican-controlled legislature passed a law granting civil and criminal immunity to IVF providers.
High-profile Republican figures have also sought to reassure voters of their support for IVF. President Donald J. Trump, while campaigning for re-election, promised to push for insurance coverage of the procedure. Last month, he issued an executive order directing his administration to explore ways to protect and make IVF more affordable.
Meanwhile, Republican senators Katie Britt of Alabama and Ted Cruz of Texas cosponsored the “IVF Protection Act” in 2023, a bill that aimed to prevent states from restricting the reproductive technology.
At the state level, Republican-led legislatures have also advanced pro-IVF measures. In Georgia, a bill that would establish a right to IVF in state law recently passed a House committee. Other states, including Utah, Oregon, and Nevada, are considering bills that would either subsidize IVF or protect it from government restrictions.
While these policies enjoy broad public support, pro-life advocates warn that they come at a devastating cost to unborn life. Organizations like Students for Life of America and Them Before Us argue that IVF operates on a business model that treats embryos as disposable, with the vast majority either discarded, frozen indefinitely, or eliminated through genetic screenings.
Jordan Estabrook of Students for Life condemned Trump’s executive order as “a way to see more babies die in the United States, not make more of them,” according to World.
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Kristi Hamrick, the group’s vice president, called on Republican lawmakers to reconsider their support, warning that the fertility industry’s lack of safeguards has made embryo destruction routine.
“When people say that they support IVF, what does that mean?” Hamrick said. “Do you support the disposal of human beings in vast quantities?”
Jon Speed, a pro-life activist who once counseled women outside abortion clinics, now stands outside fertility centers, urging couples to reconsider IVF. He views the procedure as a form of “child sacrifice.”
“I look at it from a Christian perspective, and I look at it from a child sacrifice perspective,” Speed told World. “And if you look at the numbers, you’re talking about maybe 25 to 30 human embryos destroyed for every one live birth. That’s worse than abortion, and it’s really — it’s devastating.”
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