Assemblywoman MARGIE DONLON, M.D.
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblywoman CARMEN THERESA MORALES
District 34 (Essex)
Assemblywoman ANDREA KATZ
District 8 (Atlantic and Burlington)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Peterpaul
SYNOPSIS
Condemns action of Republican members of United States Congress in failing to support passage of SB3612; affirms New Jersey Legislatures commitment to protecting reproductive freedom and full access to reproductive health care.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution condemning the United States Senate Republicans blocking of legislation codifying access to in vitro fertilization, and reaffirming New Jersey citizens freedom to access reproductive health care and family planning services.
Whereas, In the United States, one in six people of childbearing age struggle with fertility and require some type of medical assistance in order to conceive a child; and
Whereas, Fortunately, 90 percent of infertility cases are treatable with medical therapies including drug treatment, surgery, and in vitro fertilization (IVF); and
Whereas, IVF is a process whereby an egg is removed from a person's body and combined with sperm inside a laboratory for fertilization; the fertilized egg, called an embryo, is then transferred into the uterus; and
Whereas, In a recent decision, LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic, P.C., the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos are extrauterine children, and that the states Wrongful Death of A Minor Act applies on its face to all unborn children, without limitation; and
Whereas, Following the LePage holding, Governor Kay Ellen Ivey of Alabama signed into law S.B.159 to ensure criminal and civil immunity for those administering or receiving IVF services; and
Whereas, Notwithstanding this new enactment, the LePage ruling continues to threaten the rights of Alabamians who are planning to have children, and endangers the overall future of family planning in the state; and
Whereas, Following the LePage decision, a number of congressional Republican senators joined Democrats in criticizing the ruling, and expressed their support for in vitro fertilization (IVF); and
Whereas, Tammy Duckworth, a Democratic Senator from Illinois who utilized IVF to conceive her two children, introduced Senate Bill 3612 (SB3612), part of a four-bill package of legislation known as the Right to IVF Act, in order to protect the rights of individuals to seek reproductive assistance, such as IVF, and protect the physicians who provide these services, without the fear of prosecution; and
Whereas, Specifically, SB3612, known as the Access to Family Building Act, would bar the limitation of access to assisted reproductive technology, such as IVF; and
Whereas, SB3612 grants the individual rights to: (1) access assisted reproductive technology, (2) continue or complete ongoing assisted reproductive technology treatment or procedure, and (3) retain all rights regarding the use or disposition of genetic materials; and
Whereas, Consistent with the longstanding precedent in New Jersey of support for reproductive freedoms, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker expressed support of SB 3612 by co-sponsoring the bill ; and
Whereas, Senator Duckworth urged her Republican colleagues, as many initially denounced the LePage ruling for the harmful precedent that the decision has set regarding reproductive assistance services, to join the Democrats efforts to protect access to IVF by unanimously passing SB3612; and
Whereas, Instead of supporting the passage of SB3612, a measure affirmatively supporting IVF, Republican senators proposed an alternative measure, the IVF Protection Act, which would discourage states from enacting burdensome restrictions on reproductive assistance but nonetheless allow such enactments by states; and
Whereas, SB3612 failed in a procedural vote, by a tally of 48-47, to advance, with 60 votes being needed to invoke cloture to move the bill to a final vote; and
Whereas, All of the Republican senators, with the exception of two members, voted to reject the move to advance the bill; and
Whereas, Two Republican senators, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and Maine Senator Susan Collins, voted with the Senate Democratic majority and independents to advance the measure; and
Whereas, Following the failure to support the passage of SB3612, Senate Republicans issued a statement of support for the use of IVF technology; and
Whereas, It is disingenuous for the Republican lawmakers in the United States Senate to sign on to a statement giving support for IVF, while failing to support the passage of the measure which would create a federal statutory right to assisted reproductive technology; and
Whereas, New Jersey has long been a state that supports, and provides protections for, the reproductive freedom of its citizens, including the right to make the deeply personal choice of whether to start or expand a family through IVF; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. This resolution condemns the action of the Republican members of the United States Congress in failing to support the passage of SB3612.
b. This resolution further condemns the contradictory move on the part of the Republican senators of the United States Congress in publishing a statement in support of IVF technology, notwithstanding their rejection of SB3612.
c. This resolution affirms the New Jersey Legislatures commitment to protecting its citizens right to family plan, reproductive freedom, and full access to reproductive health care, including IVF.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to each member of Congress elected from this State, the President, the Vice-President, and the Governor of the State of New Jersey.
STATEMENT
This resolution condemns the action of the Republican members of the United States Congress in failing to support the passage of SB3612, federal legislation supportive of the use of in vitro technology and the rights of individuals in relation to the use of assisted reproductive technology.
In the United States, one in six people of childbearing age struggle with infertility and require some type of professional assistance in order to conceive a child. Fortunately, 90 percent of infertility cases are t