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For decades, the U. S. fertility industry used rapid advancements in assisted reproductive technology ( ART ) to expand its American market with little to no oversight or regulation. A bill introduced in the Texas House on Thursday seeks to curb part of Big Fertility’s free rein by mandating that facilities that sell in vitro fertilization ( IVF ) submit an annual report to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission about the whereabouts of embryos that result.
The policy, brought by Republican Rep. Daniel Alders of Tyler, Texas, requires licensed health care providers to show the state how many full eggs they create each period and what happens to the eggs that aren’t implanted.
The U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims ten of thousands of babies are born via hundreds of thousands of ART processes every time. However, approximately , 93 , to , 97 , percent of the little lab-created life didn’t make it to the pregnancy or delivery.
The Lone Star State legislation demands that fertility facilities detail exactly whether embryos created via IVF, “zygote intrafallopian transfer, zygote intrafallopian move, or egg recovery” were “negligently destroyed” either “due to the loss of a cryogenics container or technical and human problem”, expired “due to natural causes”, perished thanks to notoriously unreliable eugenics-esque , genetic testing, were “donate]d ]” to research, were adopted out, or were stuck indefinitely in special freezers.
The act also requests information on how several repeatedly manufactured embryos are discarded because they are deemed the bad intercourse, are classified as physically inoperable or problematic, or are left over by parents who decided not to use the embryos they commissioned.
” As pro-child and pro-family efforts continue to advance, particularly with the aid of technologies, we must continue to be diligently pro-life”, Alders told The Texan in a statement. ” By requiring thorough IVF reporting, we affirm the dignity of every human life, and also ensure that parents and families receive the most comprehensive information possible as they endeavor to welcome a new life into their home” . ,
While Alders ‘ legislation does nothing to curb the morally and ethically reprehensible services offered by Big Fertility, it does pave the way for a semblance of transparency in an industry that has spent years evading it.
As it stands right now, U. S. fertility facilities are not required to share how many embryos they are responsible for manufacturing, freezing, or discarding each year. Nor is the domestic Big Fertility market obligated to disclose how often and for what reasons it uses genetic screening technology.
Between Alders ‘ bill and inquiries led by Republicans in the U. S. House into the” Wild West” that is ART, investigation into the American fertility industry’s role as one of the biggest destroyers of human life could lead to more than just reporting changes.
Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.
