On the recordFebruary 28, 2024
Madam President, I want to say to my colleague from Illinois that I am so proud to be a supporter of your legislation that is going to provide the necessary protections for women in America to become mothers. I think I mentioned this to my colleague at lunch a couple of days ago. Thirty years ago, Madame President, I wrote the Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act into law, and I would just say to my colleague, back then, we never thought--never thought--we would have to be standing today on the floor of the United States Senate debating this, as we are today. But we are here because a few days ago, Alabama's far-right Supreme Court handed down a first-of-its-kind ruling effectively making IVF impossible in Alabama. We are seeing heartbreaking headlines about couples in that State being forced to rethink their plans to start a family through the IVF process that was just in effect 30 years ago. Some of these families have already spent tens of thousands of dollars and have undergone extensive medical treatment. Alabama's largest hospital system, the University of Alabama, has already paused its IVF services out of fear of prosecution. The decision to conceive a child through IVF is rarely ever a parent's first choice. It is physically and emotionally painful, taxing and tedious, and it is expensive.…
Source
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