Latest news with #RighttoIVFAct
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Sen. Tammy Duckworth's lived experience a catalyst for change in Illinois, across the country
For Tammy Duckworth, the personal and the political are intertwined. The junior U.S. senator from Illinois has had a life marked by not only overcoming obstacles, but shaping a sharp vision from them. She's wielded her own life experiences to make history on the Senate floor, speaking up – often with firsthand experience – for the issues she cares about. In 2004, Duckworth was deployed to Iraq as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot for the Illinois Army National Guard, where she stood among the first women in the Army to fly combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Nov. 12, 2004, a rocket-propelled grenade shot down her helicopter, exploding in her lap. She lost both her legs and partial use of her right arm. But after a year of recovery, she became director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs where she helped create a tax credit for employers that hire veterans, developed programs to improve access to housing and health care and established the nation's first 24-hour veteran crisis hotline. Duckworth later served as former President Barack Obama's assistant secretary of veteran affairs, addressing issues affecting women and Native American veterans. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016, making her the first disabled woman to serve in Congress. Rising through the ranks of the military as a young woman, she put off having children until she was 50 to prioritize her career. After a series of in-vitro fertilization treatments, she welcomed her daughter Abigail in 2014 and another daughter, Maile Pearl, in 2018. Duckworth made history that year as the first senator to give birth while in office. She brought her 10-day-old newborn onto the Senate floor during a vote, a decision that sparked a rule change which now allows parents to bring infants onto the Senate floor to fulfill both parenting and political duties. She remembers traveling between Illinois and Washington twice a week while breastfeeding. Finding appropriate places to pump breast milk proved difficult, so Duckworth pushed a five-year campaign, the Friendly Airports for Mothers Improvement Act, that mandated lactation rooms in airports and hospitals starting in 2020. She's also pushed to expand access to fertility treatment nationwide through her Right to IVF Act, introduced in the Senate last year. For her accomplishments in reproductive rights, veterans issues and disability advocacy, Duckworth has been named USA TODAY's Women of the Year honoree from Illinois. This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity. During COVID, I was writing letters to my daughters to talk about the importance of service to them, and it ended up being a book. The title of my book is 'Every Day is a Gift,' and that's how I feel about people who have paved the way for me. I feel like I've been given gifts along the way. When my dad had been unemployed in his 50s for over five years and we were nearly two days away from being homeless, it was an American Legion call so that we would actually have a place to stay. It was Vietnam veterans who were still flying helicopters in the reserve unit at Naval Air Station, Glenview. I'm in my 20s, I show up at this helicopter, I'm the only woman there and I'm a cadet. These Vietnam veterans took me under their wing. And then, of course, here at the Senate, I wouldn't have gotten here were it not for Dick Durbin. He saw me in the hospital when I was wounded, and he looked past the wheelchair. He looked past my race, my age, my gender, and he saw someone who was hungry to continue to serve my country. 2024: Dr. Tamara Olt is USA TODAY Women of the Year honoree for Illinois I probably have several buckets. Obviously, what first motivated me was veterans issues, so it was everything I did in Illinois, and we were the first state in the country to do a lot of things. We were the first to have a 24-hour mental health crisis hotline for veterans. Even before the V.A. had a 24-hour hotline, we implemented one back in 2007. Illinois is the first to implement my program that allows veterans and small business owners access to federal property for free. I've worked a lot on veteran homelessness, which has been a real crusade of mine for a long time. One moment that brings a smile to my face is every time I'm in an airport and I see one of those lactation pods or lactation rooms. That's my law. I did that. It makes a difference for the most vulnerable, our babies, and I get to see one every time I go through an airport, which is, you know, a couple times a week. I am trying to teach both my daughters. We've been having this conversation. What I tell them is, 'Courage is not the absence of fear.' When I served in the military, I had to do a lot of things that were scary. Courage comes from finding something scary, but doing it anyway. It's not the absence of fear. It's actually the presence of fear but moving forward anyway. 2023: 'Love heals': How a mantra propels Springfield's Rev. Margaret Ann Jessup forward I try to assume that the other person loves this country as much as I do. Maybe we don't all have the same perspective on the problem, which is probably why we don't have the same answers. You don't win without compromising; an 80% solution is better than a 0%. Maybe there's a way to find a middle ground. Right now and every day in my job, I try to look back to what Dick Durbin has done or Paul Simon has done in the past, this idea that we all need water, clean water. Clean air. So trying to look at some of the folks who may have been dealbreakers in the past or helped guide me at this time when it's pretty partisan. It's pretty difficult here in Washington right now, and I'm trying to look back to the folks who were able to get things done in previous areas and maybe learn from them. Of course, I'm happy it's not a bad group to look up to. 2022: Meet Dr. Ngozi Ezike, a 'woman who saved lives and changed (Illinois) for the better' This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Tammy Duckworth is USA TODAY's Women of the Year honoree for Illinois
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump's IVF order: Democrats allege ‘PR stunt' as anti-abortion groups bristle
Democratic lawmakers are decrying President Donald Trump's recent order on in vitro fertilization as nothing more than a 'PR stunt,' while anti-abortion groups bristled over a move that follows Trump's campaign promise to make the procedure free. Trump issued an executive order Tuesday directing the assistant to the president for domestic policy to give him a list of policy recommendations on protecting IVF access and 'aggressively' lowering out-of-pocket and health plan costs for the procedure. Democrats called on him to do more, perhaps looking to call his bluff. 'If he is actually serious about taking real action to accomplish his own campaign promise to make IVF free for everyone, there's a simple way he can prove it: He can call on Senate Republicans to immediately back my Right to IVF Act that would require insurance plans to cover IVF,' said Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) in a statement. 'Otherwise, it's all just lip-service from a known liar.' Duckworth has long worked to create safeguards for the treatment that she used to conceive her two daughters after struggling with infertility for more than a decade. The Illinois senator reintroduced the Right to IVF Act last year, along with Democratic Sens. Corey Booker (N.J.) and Patty Murray (Wash). It sought to create a statutory right for Americans to access in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments. Senate Republicans again blocked the bill, calling it an election year stunt by Democrats, with some offering alternative legislation. A bill from Florida Sen. Rick Scott sought to expand health savings accounts to make it easier for people to save funds for IVF. Murray has also publicly criticized Trump for his IVF order, which she called an empty gesture. 'Let's be clear: this PR stunt does NOTHING to actually expand access to IVF. Republicans created this mess by overturning Roe and they've blocked legislation MULTIPLE TIMES that WOULD make IVF care more accessible and affordable for families. Give me a break,' she wrote in a post on the social media platform X. Members of the Congressional Reproductive Freedom Caucus argued Wednesday that Trump could have better shown his commitment to fertility treatments by directing federal agencies to expand IVF coverage for employees, veterans or service members. He could have also proven his commitment by urging House Speaker Mike Johnson and then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to pass the Right to IVF Act last year, according to a statement released by the caucus co-chairs. 'Donald Trump is not serious about protecting people's right to build their families on their terms,' wrote Representatives Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass). 'Yesterday's inaction does not change that.' But anti-abortion advocates who are against IVF argued for Trump to do the opposite — veer away from widening access to the procedure. During IVF, doctors fertilize an egg with sperm in a lab to create a human embryo, which is then inserted into the mother's uterus. Doctors will often retrieve multiple eggs from the ovary in preparation for IVF and fertilize multiple eggs at once, creating multiple embryos, to increase the odds that a transfer will result in a pregnancy. Embryos that are never used are then stored, donated or destroyed. Some anti-abortion advocates, who believe life begins at conception, oppose IVF because the process may involve the destruction of unused embryos. Students for Life of America leader Kristan Hawkins admonished Trump for his IVF order before it was even signed. 'Rumor is President Trump is getting ready to release something about IVF funding…please stop and study the IVF Industry, which is disturbing as it preys on desperate families, kills humans in the embryonic stage and promotes eugenics,' she wrote in a post on X early Tuesday. Lila Rose, president of the pro-life advocacy group Live Action, also took issue with Trump's order, arguing that IVF treatment is 'NOT pro-life' in a post on X. Leadership from one anti-abortion group — Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America — had a more measured response to Trump's order, admonishing the destruction of embryos while calling on his administration to do more. 'SBA Pro-Life America does not object to ethical fertility treatments paired with strong medical safety standards that help couples struggling with infertility,' a statement issued Tuesday reads. 'We also believe human embryos should not be destroyed. Rogue practitioners who switch human embryos, fail to follow basic safety standards, or negligently destroy human embryos desired by couples must be held to account under any federal role in fertility treatment.' The group also said it hopes the administration will at least consider health and safety precautions for couples trying to conceive and for embryos when crafting affordability recommendations requested by the order. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump issues IVF executive order, sparking debate among conservatives
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday which seeks to reduce in vitro fertilization costs and expand its access, but the move has met with some concern from conservative groups. 'Americans need reliable access to IVF and more affordable treatment options, as the cost per cycle can range from $12,000 to $25,000,' the executive order stated. 'Providing support, awareness, and access to affordable fertility treatments can help these families navigate their path to parenthood with hope and confidence.' By May 19, the Domestic Policy Council must submit policy recommendations to the president that would 'aggressively' reduce out-of-pocket IVF costs and allow more people access to it. While the executive order did not lay out specifics on how the Trump administration will proceed, it promised to ease 'unnecessary statutory or regulatory burdens' that make IVF expensive. Congress has a history of imposing regulations on IVF, including the 1996 Dickey-Wicker Amendment. Similar opposition to IVF has continued up through 2024, when Republican senators shut down the Right to IVF Act twice. On the campaign trail, Trump called himself 'the father of IVF' during a woman-only town hall event and vowed to make the treatment accessible. 'We really are the party for IVF,' Trump said in October. 'We want fertilization ... and we're even more on IVF than them (Democrats). So, we're totally in favor of it.' However, not everyone in the Republican Party is celebrating the executive order. Katy Faust, the founder and president of the children's rights organization, Them Before Us, voiced her concern over IVF pregnancies in a podcast with Christine Yeargin. During their conversation, Faust said, 'From the children's rights perspective, we are highly critical of IVF. That's because only about 7% of babies created 'in vitro,' in glass, in the laboratory, will be born alive.' She added her concern over abortion being a common part of IVF, especially in surrogacy. 'If the baby is not developing the way they would like it to be developed,' abortion serves 'quality control and quantity control.' Similarly, Lila Rose, president of the pro life organization Live Action, wrote on X Wednesday, 'IVF doesn't address the root causes of the infertility health crisis in America.' 'It's a Big Pharma bandaid, with major ethical issues, like millions of frozen & destroyed embryos,' she continued. 'If we want to Make America Healthy Again, we should invest in addressing and healing the underlying causes of infertility.' On the other hand, Sen. Katie Boyd Britt, R-Ala., took to X Tuesday afternoon, thanking Trump for his executive order. She added, 'IVF is profoundly pro-family, and I'm proud to work with President Trump on ensuring more loving parents can start and grow their families.' In vitro fertilization is the process of collecting eggs from a woman's ovaries and fertilizing them with a man's sperm in a lab, as the Mayo Clinic described. 'IVF can be done using a couple's own eggs and sperm. Or it may involve eggs, sperm or embryos from a known or unknown donor. In some cases, a gestational carrier — someone who has an embryo implanted in the uterus — might be used," per Mayo Clinic. A study published by Stanford University in 2023 made an economic case for IVF, arguing that selecting an embryo without a genetic mutation results in reduced health care costs longer term. The University of California San Francisco describes this process as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, which is used 'to reduce the risk of passing on inherited conditions.' In PGD, multiple embryos are grown in a lab and are evaluated for 'specific genetic conditions,' once they reach the six-to-eight-cell stage, the university explained. If the embryos are unaffected by conditions the parents wish to avoid, they are implanted in the surrogate or mother's uterus. In most states, including Utah, IVF surrogacy is legal for heterosexual, homosexual and single parents.
The Hill
19-02-2025
- Health
- The Hill
Trump's IVF order: Democrats allege ‘PR stunt' as anti-abortion groups bristle
Democratic lawmakers are decrying President Donald Trump's recent order on in vitro fertilization as nothing more than a 'PR stunt,' while anti-abortion groups bristled over a move that follows Trump's campaign promise to make the procedure free. Trump issued an executive order Tuesday directing the assistant to the president for domestic policy to give him a list of policy recommendations on protecting IVF access and 'aggressively' lowering out-of-pocket and health plan costs for the procedure. Democrats called on him to do more, perhaps looking to call his bluff. 'If he is actually serious about taking real action to accomplish his own campaign promise to make IVF free for everyone, there's a simple way he can prove it: He can call on Senate Republicans to immediately back my Right to IVF Act that would require insurance plans to cover IVF,' said Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) in a statement. 'Otherwise, it's all just lip-service from a known liar.' Duckworth has long worked to create safeguards for the treatment that she used to conceive her two daughters after struggling with infertility for more than a decade. The Illinois senator reintroduced the Right to IVF Act last year, along with Democratic Sens. Corey Booker (N.J.) and Patty Murray (Wash). It sought to create a statutory right for Americans to access in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments. Senate Republicans again blocked the bill, calling it an election year stunt by Democrats, with some offering alternative legislation. A bill from Florida Sen. Rick Scott sought to expand health savings accounts to make it easier for people to save funds for IVF. Murray has also publicly criticized Trump for his IVF order, which she called an empty gesture. 'Let's be clear: this PR stunt does NOTHING to actually expand access to IVF. Republicans created this mess by overturning Roe and they've blocked legislation MULTIPLE TIMES that WOULD make IVF care more accessible and affordable for families. Give me a break,' she wrote in a post on the social media platform X. Members of the Congressional Reproductive Freedom Caucus argued Wednesday that Trump could have better shown his commitment to fertility treatments by directing federal agencies to expand IVF coverage for employees, veterans or service members. He could have also proven his commitment by urging House Speaker Mike Johnson and then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to pass the Right to IVF Act last year, according to a statement released by the caucus co-chairs. 'Donald Trump is not serious about protecting people's right to build their families on their terms,' wrote Representatives Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass). 'Yesterday's inaction does not change that.' But anti-abortion advocates who are against IVF argued for Trump to do the opposite — veer away from widening access to the procedure. During IVF, doctors fertilize an egg with sperm in a lab to create a human embryo, which is then inserted into the mother's uterus. Doctors will often retrieve multiple eggs from the ovary in preparation for IVF and fertilize multiple eggs at once, creating multiple embryos, to increase the odds that a transfer will result in a pregnancy. Embryos that are never used are then stored, donated or destroyed. Some anti-abortion advocates, who believe life begins at conception, oppose IVF because the process may involve the destruction of unused embryos. Students for Life of America leader Kristan Hawkins admonished Trump for his IVF order before it was even signed. 'Rumor is President Trump is getting ready to release something about IVF funding…please stop and study the IVF Industry, which is disturbing as it preys on desperate families, kills humans in the embryonic stage and promotes eugenics,' she wrote in a post on X early Tuesday. Lila Rose, president of the pro-life advocacy group Live Action, also took issue with Trump's order, arguing that IVF treatment is 'NOT pro-life' in a post on X. Leadership from one anti-abortion group — Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America — had a more measured response to Trump's order, admonishing the destruction of embryos while calling on his administration to do more. 'SBA Pro-Life America does not object to ethical fertility treatments paired with strong medical safety standards that help couples struggling with infertility,' a statement issued Tuesday reads. 'We also believe human embryos should not be destroyed. Rogue practitioners who switch human embryos, fail to follow basic safety standards, or negligently destroy human embryos desired by couples must be held to account under any federal role in fertility treatment.' The group also said it hopes the administration will at least consider health and safety precautions for couples trying to conceive and for embryos when crafting affordability recommendations requested by the order.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
FLASHBACK: Trump seeks to expand fertility coverage, after Tim Walz once accused him of being ‘anti-IVF'
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday requesting the Domestic Policy Council examine ways to make in vitro fertilization, known as IVF, more affordable and accessible for Americans – despite the fact Democrats cautioned that Trump would seek to ban the procedure. "Americans need reliable access to IVF and more affordable treatment options, as the cost per cycle can range from $12,000 to $25,000," the executive order said. "Providing support, awareness, and access to affordable fertility treatments can help these families navigate their path to parenthood with hope and confidence." Specifically, the order requires the assistant to the president for domestic policy to provide a list of policy recommendations aimed at "protecting IVF access and aggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment" within 90 days, according to the order. 'Promises Kept': Trump Signs Executive Order To 'Aggressively' Make Ivf More Affordable And Accessible The directive comes months after former Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate in the 2024 election against Trump, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, accused the Trump administration of being "anti-IVF." Specifically, Walz singled out Trump's running mate, then-Sen. JD Vance, a practicing Catholic who voted in June against the Right to IVF Act. The Catholic Church opposes IVF, saying unused embryos pose a moral dilemma. Read On The Fox News App But Vance said in August 2024 he doesn't believe all his religious views should translate to public policy since the U.S. is a "democratic society," he told the New York Post. "Catholic social teaching is obviously very robust," he told the Post. "I think that no person who, or at least no one I know who's Catholic, doesn't accept that just because the Catholic Church teaches something, doesn't mean you necessarily as a legislator need to affect that to public policy." The Right to IVF measure would establish a nationwide right to IVF and other assisted reproductive technology, but it failed to pass in the Senate. "JD Vance opposing the miracle of IVF is a direct attack on my family and so many others," Walz said in a social media post on X in July 2024. Walz previously claimed that he and his wife, Gwen, struggled to conceive and shared details during the 2024 campaign about the couple's experience using IVF to become pregnant with their two children. But Gwen Walz later clarified in August 2024 in an interview with Glamour magazine that the couple actually used intrauterine insemination, known as IUI, to conceive. The process involves using a catheter to place the sperm directly into the uterus to increase odds of conception. Doge Scores Big Court Win, Allowed Access Data On 3 Federal Agencies In contrast, IVF requires the removal of a woman's eggs and injecting them with sperm to create embryos, which then are placed back into the woman's uterus. More than 85,000 babies born in 2021 were from IVF, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Costly IVF treatments are rarely fully covered by health insurance, and only 25% of employers report providing coverage to their employees, according to the White House. Trump unveiled plans in August 2024 that he'd seek to require insurance companies to cover the cost of IVF, stating he was pushing the policy "because we want more babies, to put it nicely." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: FLASHBACK: Trump seeks to expand fertility coverage, after Tim Walz once accused him of being 'anti-IVF'
