Senate Republican blocks bill that would protect access to IVF nationwide

Washington — One Senate Republican on Wednesday scuttled a Democrat-led effort to pass legislation that would safeguard access to IVF nationwide. 

The bill aims to preempt state efforts to restrict access to the fertility treatments since a ruling earlier the Alabama Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that frozen embryos could be considered children under a state law. The decision made it possible for couples whose frozen embroyos were accidentally destroyed to sue for wrongful death of their "extrauterine children." The ruling has paused IVF treatments and processes in the state as providers evaluate their liability.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, sought to approve the legislation under unanimous consent, which gives any single lawmaker the power to block its passage. The bill would create federal protections for IVF access nationwide, after access to the fertility treatment often used by women who struggle to become pregnant has come into question under state law in Alabama. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Mississippi Republican blocked the bill on Wednesday.