Roger Marshall: “I thank the leadership of the Senators from Texas and Alabama on this issue that is important to literally millions of…”

“I thank the leadership of the Senators from Texas and Alabama on this issue that is important to literally millions of Americans, as the Senators talked about. First of all, let the record show that, today, the Democrats objected to the Republican-led IVF Protection Act. The Democrats objected to protecting IVF. This is personal to so many people up here, and it is personal to many Republican Senators. I would suppose a half a dozen of us so far have a family member--maybe a child or a grandchild--because of IVF or staff, thanks to IVF. Maybe it is as personal to me as to anybody up here. For some 30 years of my life, I had the opportunity and the privilege of delivering a baby most every day. Certainly, I have just nothing but fond, fond memories in each one of those opportunities to give a baby to a new mom and dad and just see the smiles on their faces and see their lives change forever. But not everybody was that fortunate, and not everybody is that fortunate, as 10 to 15 percent of Americans have an infertility problem. There are 10 to 15 percent of married couples who struggle to have children, and that is why I worked so hard to have an infertility clinic--a place where people could travel from hundreds of miles to get help with their infertility treatments. Certainly, there were many basic things we could do. We helped thousands of women and have helped them have a baby, but if we weren't successful, the next step was in vitro fertilization.…”