These considerations convey much emotion, and I am especially conflicted with sympathy for those who want children and are unable to conceive by natural means. Whereas children are a gift from God, there are many reasons why couples struggle with infertility. The Catholic Church has taken positions of great sympathy as well, but resists means to achieve conception which denigrate natural love and waste human life. I discuss some of the issues in my book, but technology marches along rapidly, and often gets ahead of morality and safety.
Now a bill has been introduced in Congress to establish a “right” of access to reproductive technologies. I received an email reproduced below form the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
“The need to accompany and support the increasing number of families struggling with infertility is real. But members of Congress – including many who consider themselves pro-life – are in a rush to promote access to a new national “right” to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other such technologies that destroy preborn human lives and treat people like property (like surrogacy, gene editing, and cloning). Some of the current proposals would also threaten Catholic hospitals, charities, schools, and other organizations and also threaten people that do not enable or cover these procedures. The legislation could even allow minors to receive the procedures despite parents’ objections. Please tell your members of Congress to oppose bills that promote so-called “rights” to IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies (ART) that cause the death of countless human embryos and violate human dignity.”
A form letter was suggested to send to congressional representatives in the jurisdiction where recipients live:
“Please oppose bills and provisions promoting a supposed right to in vitro fertilization (IVF) or “assisted reproductive technologies” (ART). ART can include IVF, commercial surrogacy, gene editing, reproducing children of deceased parents, chimeras, cloning, and more. Many of these practices exploit vulnerable women and commodify both them and their children. Some are also illegal in certain States, but those laws would be overridden by a new federal law. Some recent proposals would restrict the freedom of faith-based charitable employers or hospitals (and health workers) or even allow minors to overrule parents. IVF and related technologies have been associated with increased health risks for mothers and children. Restorative reproductive medicine, on the other hand, though often overlooked, can help treat the underlying causes of infertility and is worthy of greater support. Most importantly, however, IVF causes the death or abandonment of millions of children and is not pro-life nor pro-child. Please oppose these measures.”
I agree with the USCCB that this legislation is dangerous and would open the door to horrifying practices currently explicitly forbidden in the United States and many foreign countries. I sent the following addition to the form letter:
“The above form letter is well made by USCCB, but I wish to add that the federal government has no business inventing another “right” to unregulated “reproductive care” without boundaries. Many of the practices that could thereby become lawful in the United States are forbidden in countries throughout the word as too horrifying to contemplate. The issues of lawful practice of established medical procedures, although attached to issues of morality and the wasting of human life, should be debated in the states, and laws governing these procedures should be regulated in those states by the people. Other practices must remain forbidden by federal law. This legislation is also part of a back door approach to making abortion a codified “right.” This proposed federal legislation must be opposed !”
I received the following reply from Texas State Senator Cornyn:
Dear Dr. Brooks:
Thank you for contacting me with your concerns regarding the Right to IVF Act (S. 4445). I appreciate having the benefit of your comments on this important matter.
S. 4445 was introduced on June 3, 2024, and referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. S. 4445 would establish a statutory right to fertility treatments. On June 13, 2024, I voted against this bill because this legislation goes beyond simply expanding access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments and would prevent states from ever implementing any sort of common-sense limits on assisted reproductive technology, such as gene-edited embryos or age restrictions for minors. S. 4445 would also waive conscience and religious liberty protections included in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (P.L. 103-141). As a pro-life senator, I am concerned about the precedent this would set for other issues of religious beliefs. For these reasons, I could not support S. 4445.
IVF has helped many parents complete their families and bring long-awaited children into this world. This medical advancement has helped mothers and fathers across the country overcome the devastating diagnosis of infertility, and it is the most effective fertility treatment option currently available.
Infertility occurs when a couple is unable to conceive after at least one year. This condition can be caused by a number of health factors, including genetic or hormonal disorders. Physical or emotional stress, weight, alcohol use, and age can also contribute to infertility. The CDC estimates that over 13% of women and 1 in 5 married couples struggle with infertility. Over the last forty years, the use of IVF has grown substantially across the United States. In 2021, almost 100,000 infants were born because of successful fertility treatments, primarily IVF.
While IVF is an important tool, we should also be looking at addressing the underlying causes of infertility. I am proud to be a cosponsor of the Reproductive Empowerment and Support through Optimal Restoration (RESTORE) Act (S. 4533), which would take a more holistic approach to addressing the heartbreaking issue of infertility. Specifically, the RESTORE Act would improve education and training opportunities for women and health care providers to better diagnose and resolve reproductive health conditions. This bill was introduced on June 13, 2024, and referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee. I hope my Democratic colleagues will be willing to consider this legislation during the 118th Congress.
I am always appreciative when Texans take the time to reach out and share their concerns about an issue that is personal to so many. Thank you for contacting me.
Sincerely, JOHN CORNYN, United States Senator
To the above, I add that millions of people in the earliest stages of development have been frozen during the IVF process and await their chance to be born. Most will be discarded. Those that are chosen to develop into a baby scream at us that each of these frozen embryos is a real person…just very tiny and in the earliest stages of development. Given a chance, they become babies, toddlers, teenagers, and adults like us. We all developed this way.
Abortion survivors, those intended to die from abortion but lived to develop into a baby, also inform us that they may have been tiny and still developing in the womb, but they were people then just as they are now and that their lives matter and should have been protected.
I admitted up front that I am conflicted on the issue of IVF, such is my compassion for those with infertility. One of my best friends and his wife resorted to IVF. Their daughter is a lovely young lady, very bright and productive, a credit to all good things in society. Perhaps technology will one day rescue us from the waste of human life that comes with the procedure as it is now. In the meantime, I invite the reader to read the Catholic position on reproductive technology and ponder all of these issues.