GOP Reps. Matt Rosendale (Mont.) and Josh Brecheen (Okla.) wrote a letter to committee chairs and ranking members not to include House or Senate provisions in the National Defense Reauthorization Act (NDAA).
The Thursday letter to the committee chairs and ranking members, first shared with The Hill, is an example of divisions that remain in the Republican Party amid threats to the fertility treatment.
The topic came to the forefront after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, spurred by social conservatives’ belief that life begins at conception — even as President-elect Trump and the majority of vocal Republicans say they support IVF.
Lawmakers specifically asked committee leaders to exclude a House-passed provision for “assisted reproductive technology” for certain armed forces members under Tricare.
“Section 701 is a dramatic expansion of IVF that will cost taxpayers approximately $1 billion per year. While we have great sympathy for couples who are having difficulty starting a family, IVF is ineffective, leads to the destruction of innocent human life, and does nothing to treat the root cause of a couple’s infertility,” Rosendale and Brecheen wrote.
Rosendale has been a leading critical voice against IVF in Congress and has filed multiple amendments to bills to stop funding from being spent on IVF. But with Rosendale having opted out of a reelection bid, Brecheen’s name on the letter indicates that IVF skepticism will remain in the GOP on Capitol Hill.
