Res No. 684
Resolution calling upon the United States Congress to pass, and the President to sign, S.4445/H.R.9643, also known as the Right to IVF Act, legislation that would create a federal statutory right to access assisted reproductive technology
Council Members Ung, Powers, Hanif, Restler and Cabán
Whereas, S.4445/H.R.9643, also known as the Right to IVF Act, sponsored by Senator Tammy Duckworth and Representative Susan Wild respectively, was introduced in the United States (U.S.) Senate on June 3, 2024 and the U.S. House of Representatives on September 17, 2024; and
Whereas, In the wake of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, P.C., issued February 16, 2024, which declared embryos to be legal children, advocates and lawmakers have called for the immediate passage of the Access to Family Building Act, the predecessor legislation to the Right to IVF Act, in order to protect the process known as in vitro fertilization (IVF); and
Whereas, S.4445/H.R.9643 would provide a statutory right to access fertility treatments, including IVF, and would allow individuals to make decisions without limitation or interference regarding the use of their reproductive genetic materials, such as embryos; and
Whereas, According to the Mayo Clinic, IVF is the most effective type of fertility treatment involving the handling of eggs, embryos and/or sperm; and
Whereas, The Mayo Clinic states that during IVF, mature eggs are collected from ovaries and then fertilized by sperm in a lab, after which the fertilized eggs, known as embryos, are placed in utero for gestation; and
Whereas, According to Johns Hopkins University, embryos that have been produced but not used during an IVF treatment cycle may be kept frozen by a fertility clinic for later use, thereby eliminating the need for IVF patients to undergo future additional hormonal treatments; and
Whereas, Following an incident in 2020, which, according to a CNN article published on February 20, 2024, resulted in the destruction of their frozen embryos that were being stored at the Center for Reproductive Medicine (CRM) in Mobile, Alabama, three couples filed a wrongful-death complaint against the fertility clinic; and
Whereas, One of the claims brought by the plaintiff couples was based upon the 1872 Alabama statute known as The Wrongful Death of a Minor Act (WDMA), which allows parents of a deceased child to recover punitive damages for their child’s death; and
Whereas, The Alabama trial court dismissed the case, finding that embryos that exist in vitro are not people or children as a legal matter; and
Whereas, The plaintiff couples appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Alabama, which disagreed with the lower court and declared that the WDMA applies “to all unborn children without limitation… including unborn children who are not located in utero at the time they are killed”; and
Whereas, In the immediate aftermath of the ruling several of Alabama’s IVF clinics paused services; and
Whereas, According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the cost of a single cycle of IVF has been estimated to range from $15,000 to possibly over $30,000, and given the average treatment plan requires 2.5 cycles of IVF, this cost can exceed $40,000; and
Whereas, The ruling of the Alabama Supreme Court could result in increased liability costs that could drive the price of IVF even higher; and
Whereas, Based upon the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Fertility Clinic Success Rate Report, in 2021, approximately 238,126 patients had 413,776 assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles performed at 453 clinics across the United States, resulting in 91,906 live births, defined as the “deliveries of one or more living infants,” and 97,128 live born infants; and
Whereas, According to the CDC, New York State has the second highest number of ART clinics, 44, and, in 2020, the second highest number of infants born using ART treatments, 7,506; and
Whereas, While at present, according to Resolve, The National Infertility Association, New York State laws protect the right to access reproductive care and services like IVF, codifying these rights at the federal level would provide another layer of protection for all New Yorkers; and
Whereas, The citizens of New York State voted to pass Proposition 1 in the 2024 election, which enshrined in the New York State Constitution protections from discrimination against those receiving reproductive healthcare; and
Whereas, according to an NPR article from September 17, 2024, Senate Republicans blocked the Right to IVF Act as Democrats attempted to push the legislation forward ahead of the 2024 election; and
Whereas, In April 2024, New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 21 attorneys urged Congress to pass the Access to Family Building Act, the predecessor legislation to the Right to IVF Act; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the United States Congress to pass, and the President to sign, S.4445/H.R.9643, also known as the Right to IVF Act, legislation that would create a federal statutory right to access assisted reproductive technology.
LS 17757/17769
11/6/24
JN