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Two House Republicans urge lawmakers to remove IVF expansion from defense funding bill
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Two House Republicans urge lawmakers to remove IVF expansion from defense funding bill

Two House Republicans on Thursday urged the House and Senate Armed Services Committees not to allow provisions in the annual defense funding bill that would expand access to in vitro fertilization (IVF).

IVF emerged as a polarizing subject within the Republican Party earlier this year, after the The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen IVF embryos were children in February. IVF is primarily used as an infertility treatment for families who want to have biological children.

GOP Reps. Matt Rosendale of Montana and Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma highlighted part of the language in the House-passed funding bill, which would expand the military’s Tricare program to include “assisted reproductive technology” services. ”, including IVF treatments.

“As you finalize the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025, we respectfully urge you not to include any provisions from the House or Senate that expand in vitro fertilization (IVF). Specifically, the House passed S. 701,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to committees, first reported by The Hill.

“Section 701 is a dramatic expansion of IVF that will cost taxpayers approximately $1 billion annually,” the lawmakers continued. “While we have great sympathy for couples who are having difficulty starting a family, IVF is ineffective and leads to the destruction of innocent human life, and does nothing to address the root cause of infertility. ‘a couple.’

Rosendale is considered one of the biggest critics of IVF in the House and has introduced several bills to prevent the government from covering IVF procedures.

One of the main reasons why the subject is considered controversial That’s because the process usually destroys unused but still viable embryos, reopening the question of when life begins. Pro-life advocates generally believe that life begins at conception.

“IVF continues to be heavily underregulated and is practiced without the necessary ethical guidelines in place,” the pair wrote. “Congress must protect our nation’s most vulnerable and reject any provisions that lead to the destruction of innocent human lives and expand our near-total access.” A debt of 36 trillion dollars. »

Misty Severi is an evening reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on for more coverage.