HB 836 does the opposite of what it claims. Instead of helping families, HB 836 seeks to remove all safety guidelines and accountability for the multi-billion-dollar IVF industry. They win, and life loses.
As an IVF baby, I have more of an intimate understanding than most of what IVF is capable of. I am immensely thankful to be alive, and I know how painful infertility was for my parents. I believe it is one of the hardest things anyone can go through.
As a new mom who is in the stage of life where I am also surrounded by my friend’s babies, I rejoice over the deep joy of children and family. It is truly an indescribable gift.
So, with all of this in mind, why would I oppose the latest IVF bill released in the Pennsylvania State House? House Bill 836 certainly comes with good intentions to support families and babies, a goal we all share. But the reality of legislation matters, and the effects of this bill would benefit a $35 billion dollar IVF industry over families and individual doctors.
As a bit of background, House Bill 836 seeks to prohibit the Commonwealth from “interfering” with assisted reproductive technology (ART) like in vitro fertilization (IVF). If successful, this would make it impossible for governing bodies to place important and binding safety standards, and guardrails in place. It also aims to tie the hands of legislators to stop them from doing the same. HB 836 would make the fertility industry less regulated than fast food.
In an industry where the immensely significant and precious work of creating human life is done in a lab, that industry ought to meet the highest level of oversight, accountability, and safety regulations. There already exist very valid concerns around eugenics in the industry, with over 75 percent of fertility clinics offering pre-implantation genetic testing for genetic issues and 73 percent offer testing for sex selection or hair, eye, and skin color.
There exist further concerns around the flippant way life is sometimes treated in IVF procedures with more embryos created and destroyed than are actually implanted. One study suggests that only 7% of life created through IVF results in live babies – the rest are discarded, frozen, or destroyed. Almost every other developed country that has IVF has some sort of restrictions on the number of embryos created or implanted in each cycle.
Pennsylvania has no such common-sense law. House Bill 836 goes in the opposite direction. and instead of setting reasonable limits to ensure the business of creating new human life in a lab is not being abused, this bill demands this multi-billion-dollar fertility industry not be “interfered” with as long as one medical profession deems the process “medically appropriate”. HB 836 wants to give a multibillion dollar industry free reign to operate without accountability despite the sensitive nature of their work. Less safety regulations and guidelines benefit the industry, not the families who use it or the human lives created by it.
If we celebrate babies and new life, we should be upholding the highest standards and levels of accountability possible. That’s what Pennsylvania families deserve, and HB 836 is not that.
