Evangelicals key to IVF fight

Apr 01, 2024

With Carmen Paun

Driving The Day

A Heritage Foundation sign is pictured.

Conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation seek to enlist evangelical denominations to to help enact long-term policy change for IVD. | Getty Images

THE ‘PRO-LIFE’ CAMPAIGN 2.0 — In vitro fertilization is overwhelmingly popular with the American public — and anti-abortion advocates want to change that, POLITICO’s Megan Messerly and Alice Miranda Ollstein report.

Conservative groups, including the Heritage Foundation, former Vice President Mike Pence’s group Advancing American Freedom and the Southern Baptist Convention’s public advocacy-focused Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, have over the last few weeks distributed talking points, circulated policy recommendations and educated Republican officials and their staffs on their ethical concerns about how IVF is commonly practiced in the U.S.

But they’ve struggled to immediately persuade GOP lawmakers to take up their cause. Instead, conservative legislators at the state and federal levels have been introducing bills that stress unequivocal support for IVF and killing or stalling legislation giving embryos the same rights as people.

As a result, the groups realize that to enact long-term policy change for IVF and other forms of fertility technologies, they need to take their pitch directly to evangelical denominations in the same way they did with abortion 50 years ago.

It’s easier said than done. Polling shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans — including self-described “pro-life advocates” and evangelicals — support IVF. Most evangelical denominations don’t take firm stances on IVF.

But anti-abortion groups see persuading evangelicals as key to passing the kind of restrictions they view as vitally important on IVF, such as imposing more regulations on fertility clinics, limiting the number of embryos that can be created or transferred to the uterus at one time and banning pre-implantation genetic testing, which they argue allows parents to discriminate against their embryos based on sex, disabilities like Down syndrome or other factors.

Their push comes as Nicole Shanahan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vice presidential pick, has come under scrutiny for her opposition to IVF.

Anti-abortion advocates’ concerns echo some of Shanahan’s points — they, too, argue corporate greed has pushed too many families toward in vitro fertilization instead of exploring other options. Concerns being raised by Shanahan and anti-abortion advocates point to a possible future in which IVF could lose its broad popular support.

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IN THE STATES

California State Sen. Catherine Blakespear speaks at a news conference.

California state Sen. Catherine Blakespear has proposed an aid-in-dying bill that would expand the state's End of Life Option Act. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo

ASSISTED DYING IN CA — A California proposal that would allow dementia patients and out-of-state residents to end their lives will need to overcome opposition from religious leaders and disability rights groups, POLITICO’s Rachel Bluth reports.

How we got here: California state Senator Catherine Blakespear introduced a bill in March to enable people without a specific terminal prognosis to request life-ending drugs, a lower threshold than any of the other 10 states that allow some form of aid in dying.

Her proposal faces strong opposition, including from some who support current state law that allows adults in California to request lethal medication as long as they are able to make their own decisions and swallow the drug themselves and are expected to die within six months from a terminal disease.

Opponents also believe the practice is wrong for religious or moral reasons.

“Certainly, our perspective is that we don’t want the End of Life Option Act at all; I think we’ve made that very clear,” Kathleen Domingo, the executive director of the California Catholic Conference, said about the 2016 law. “And this is a really far, far-reaching expansion.”

The six-month timeline is arbitrary to Blakespear, who wants options available to people before they’re that close to death. Suffering until you’re in hospice care is too long to wait for relief, she said.

What’s next? California has had aid in dying available since 2016, but the law was amended in 2021 to ease some restrictions. Last year, disability rights advocates sued the state, saying the updates remove important safeguards. Patients must make two oral requests for lethal medication, and the 2021 updates shortened the length of time between those requests from 15 days to 48 hours.

Blakespear isn’t interested in waiting for the results of that ongoing litigation; she wants people to have more options sooner.

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Global Health

US LAYS OUT PANDEMIC AGREEMENT POSITION — The Biden administration laid out the United States’ position last week on some of the most contentious issues being negotiated at the World Health Organization as part of a global pandemic agreement, Carmen reports.

The statement from HHS and the State Department came a day after negotiators from all 194 WHO member countries decided to extend the talks for an additional two-week round, to start on April 29, as they failed to agree on any of the main issues being discussed.

The U.S. supports a mechanism for sharing information, pathogen samples and genetic sequencing data before and during an outbreak in exchange for contractual commitments from participating manufacturers to set aside a percentage of their production of vaccines, tests or treatments for equitable distribution during pandemics.

HHS and the State Department also said they support “stronger systems” for voluntary tech transfers “while protecting incentives for innovation.”

The U.S. didn’t promise any new funding for pandemic prevention and preparedness, noting that it wants existing funding mechanisms to be better aligned for that purpose.

Cybersecurity

ONC’S PLAN FOR HEALTH INFO — HHS has released its six-year plan to increase access for patients and providers to electronic health information without compromising safety and privacy.

The 2024-2030 draft released by HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT outlines its plans to help patients and providers access health records more easily. The measures include implementing health IT education and training programs, simplifying electronic documentation requirements for provider payments and providing ways for patients to share their health information using apps to participate in health research.

The draft also emphasizes the need to keep health information secure — a priority for the Biden administration, which has issued a series of voluntary cybersecurity practices for health care organizations and said mandates are coming for hospitals.

The draft gives little insight into what types of regulation ONC might pursue to further protect health information but says it will “implement appropriate mechanisms for privacy and security.”

Comments on the draft are open through May 28.

Public Health

NATIONAL TB RISE — Tuberculosis has increased in the U.S. every year since 2020 — following a 27-year decline — prompting the CDC to encourage providers to “think TB.”

A CDC report last week found that tuberculosis cases rose 16 percent from 2022 to 2023, with a rise in cases reported among most states. The U.S. still has one of the lowest tuberculosis rates in the world, and most U.S. citizens are at low risk, the agency says.

Tuberculosis has increased in the U.S. since 2020

However, the report highlights losses in the World Health Organization’s goal of eliminating 80 percent of TB cases by 2030. The WHO also reported the second consecutive increase in TB cases in 2022.

“Renewed progress toward TB elimination will require strong public health systems both domestically and globally that are responsive to health disparities, capable of maintaining essential disease prevention and control activities, and prepared to withstand the next pandemic or other large-scale crisis,” the agency said.

WHAT WE'RE READING

The New York Times reports on a rise in alcohol consumption among older Americans.

The Washington Post reports on unsafe sleep habits linked to most sudden infant deaths.

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