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Legal/Policy Updates
Bishop Chairmen Write Congress "In Ardent Opposition" to the IVF Protection Act
Three USCCB committee chairmen expressed “ardent opposition” to the IVF Protection Act. Bishop Robert E. Barron, chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, and Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, expressed their grief for the many families who suffer infertility along with their continued support for restorative reproductive practices.
They reiterated concerns with IVF as a relatively unregulated industry as practiced in the United States, creating hundreds of thousands or even millions of preborn children who will be interminably frozen or discarded and killed. They stated, “There is perhaps no more literal example of what Pope Francis has often decried as a ‘throwaway culture.’”
Furthermore, in response to the bill’s impact on Medicaid, they wrote:
“With over 40% of births and associated prenatal and postpartum care relying on Medicaid today, the ‘IVF Protection Act’ would tell State lawmakers to either forsake embryonic preborn children or risk increased effects of poverty, pregnancy complications, abortions, and maternal deaths. To federally impose this ‘choice’ is unconscionable.”
The letter is available here.
Bishop Chairmen Oppose Right to IVF Act, Urge Support for Restorative Reproductive Medicine
Ahead of the Senate’s consideration of the "Right to IVF Act" (S.4445), three USCCB committee chairmen conveyed their concerns, urging members to oppose the measure.
Bishop Robert E. Barron, chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty stated:
“The Right to IVF Act...would manufacture a new federal right and problematic health insurance mandate to support the underregulated and lucrative IVF industry – which kills and freezes countless embryonic human beings, our brothers and sisters, often in a eugenic manner; commodifies children, donors, and surrogates; and can even produce worse health outcomes for women and children. Further, it would steamroll protective state laws that stand in its way, and include definitions of ‘fertility treatment’ and ‘assisted reproductive technology’ that, beyond IVF, could include cloning, even of deceased persons. This legislation must be opposed.”
As an alternative, the bishops expressed appreciation for the RESTORE (Reproductive Empowerment and Support through Optimal Restoration) Act, which builds support for authentically restorative reproductive medicine.
The letter is available here.
Other News
Supreme Court: The Court agreed to hear a case on whether a Tennessee state law, prohibiting "gender-affirming care" for minors, violates the 14th Amendment. A decision is expected by the end of June 2025.
Biden Administration: Filings in a court case revealed that Biden’s Assistant Secretary for Health pressured the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) to eliminate age-minimums for "gender-affirming care" in its guidelines. Two days after the news broke, the Biden Administration reportedly stated that it opposed "gender-affirming surgery" for minors.
State: The Texas Supreme Court upheld a ban on "gender-affirming care" for minors in a 8-1 ruling, holding that the state law did not “unconstitutionally deny or abridge equality under the law because of sex or any other characteristic asserted by plaintiffs….”
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