House Dems Seek to Force Vote on IVF Bill Via Discharge Petition

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House Democrats are weighing an effort to force a vote on legislation that would codify the right to fertility services.

The call for a vote is seen as an election year maneuver by Democrats to force vulnerable Republicans to make a stand on issues that might sway swing voters.

Lead by Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., the Democrats are looking to move the vote forward via a discharge petition, a House Democrat told Axios on Wednesday.

The Access to Family Building Act seeks to provide a statutory right to assisted reproductive technology such as in vitro fertilization and allow the Department of Justice to sue states and localities that seek to restrict IVF services.

Discharge petitions often fail because they require a number of the opposition party to join in order achieve the 218 votes necessary to force a vote of the bill on the floor.

In the case of Wild’s bill, four Republicans have co-sponsored the legislation: Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y.; Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.; Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.; and Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y.

Each of the Republican co-sponsors are from a district that President Joe Biden won in 2020, Axios reported.

The IVF debate has become a favorite wedge issue for Democrats following the Alabama Supreme Court decision in February which ruled three couples could pursue wrongful death lawsuits for their “extrauterine children.”

The ruling threw chaos into several hospitals in the state until Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill in March giving patients and providers immunity from potential legal liability.

The move by House Democrats echoes a similar tactic by their colleagues in the Senate where last week Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., scheduled a vote on the Right to Conception Act. The Senate plans to vote Thursday on the IVF bill sponsored by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.