In vitro fertilization is a fertility treatment that helps people get pregnant. IVF is also currently under attack. In an essay for People, married couple Sen. Mark Kelly and former Rep. Gabby Giffords, both Democrats from Arizona, wrote about how their "hearts break for the couples who, all of a sudden, can’t decide for themselves how and when to start their family."
In the essay, they explained that they got married "a little later in our lives" but still wanted to grow their family. IVF was the only way to make this happen for them, they wrote.
Although the procedures are "expensive" and "invasive," they noted that "for many couples who struggle to become parents, IVF is the safest — or in some cases only — option to achieve their hope of becoming pregnant."
Unfortunately, the opportunity to have a child together was taken away from them — and they worry the government could take the opportunity away from other couples who are hoping to have children together.
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Kelly and Giffords weren't able to have a child together because Giffords was shot in the head at a political event in Tucson, Arizona, in 2011. At the time, Giffords was receiving IVF treatments and was supposed to have an appointment at Bethesda Naval Hospital two days after the shooting.
The shooting forced them to give up on their dream of having a child together.
"Our dream of having a child together was taken away by a gunman," they wrote. "The dreams of Americans to have a child together could be taken away by politicians."
Recent threats to IVF access are part of a larger trend of restricting reproductive freedoms. Protecting IVF access is important, Kelly and Giffords argue, because growing a family is a personal choice.
They argue that the government should not be making these decisions, which are "among the most personal decisions anyone makes."
"Growing a family is never simple, even in the best of circumstances," they wrote. "We know that."
"When and how to do it is among the most personal decisions anyone makes. We know that, too," they continued. "The government, whether it's politicians or judges, has no business making those decisions for you. They should be yours alone."
In 1978, the first IVF baby was born. Since then, more than 10 million babies have been born using IVF, according to Yale Medicine. About 5% of couples struggling with infertility try IVF, according to Cleveland Clinic.
