WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, in the wake of Alabama’s State Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos created during the IVF process are “children” under state law, joined a group of Democratic senators in cosponsoring U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Patty Murray (D-WA)’s legislation to protect access to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) nationwide. The Access to Family Building Act—which would establish a statutory right to access IVF for all Americans who need it to start or grow a family—now has 46 Senate cosponsors, despite Senate Republicans blocking the legislation from being passed last week.

"Access to IVF empowers individuals to navigate their reproductive journeys with autonomy and choice. To deny people this fundamental right is to deprive them of the ability to plan their futures,” said Senator Booker. “It's imperative that we protect everyone's opportunity to pursue parenthood and uphold reproductive freedom in response to the relentless attacks on Americans’ right to make their own medical decisions happening in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, including against IVF.”

“Since the Alabama Supreme Court handed down this ruling that is based in extreme ideology rather than medical science, it’s clear who is actually interested in protecting the rights of families and safeguarding IVF,” Senator Duckworth said. “For years, even before the Supreme Court’s disastrous Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, I’ve sounded the alarm that Republicans’ decades-long campaign to rob women of their right to make decisions about their healthcare and bodies would eventually put IVF and other ART at risk. I’m pleased to see so many of my Democratic colleagues in the Senate joining me in these efforts as we work to pass my Access to Family Building Act.”

“Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, Republicans have relentlessly gone after a woman’s right to make her own decisions about her body, her health, and her pregnancies—and that includes going after IVF, as we saw in Alabama just recently,” said Senator Murray. “It’s hard to comprehend Republican attacks on technologies that help women have more children, unless you remember that the bottom line for the anti-choice movement is, and has always been, about control. The Access to Family Building Act Senator Duckworth and I introduced in January and tried to pass last week would protect every American’s right to build a family on their own terms—we’re not going to stop fighting to make this a reality.”

Last week, Duckworth led a group of Senate Democrats in calling for the bill’s passage through unanimous consent, but U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) objected, blocking the effort. This is the second time Senate Republicans have blocked Duckworth-led legislation that would protect access to IVF nationwide. The Access to Family Building Act builds on previous legislation she introduced in 2022. The Access to Family Building Act is endorsed by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association.

The Access to Family Building Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Laphonza Butler (D-CA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobucher (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Last year, Booker reintroduced the bicameral Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act, legislation that would require more health insurers to provide coverage for infertility treatment, as well as fertility preservation services for individuals who undergo medically necessary procedures that may cause infertility, such as chemotherapy.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.