News: Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) is filing a discharge petition today for legislation guaranteeing a right to in vitro fertilization.
Wild is the lead sponsor of the Right to IVF Act, a bill that would codify access to the widely-used fertility treatment into federal law.
The push to protect IVF is assuming a greater role in the campaign following the Alabama Supreme Court’s recent decision that curtailed IVF access in the state. While top Republicans have expressed their support for IVF in the months since, and the Alabama legislature later passed legislation to protect the procedure, Democrats have criticized the GOP for failing to support pro-IVF measures like Wild’s.
Wild’s discharge petition faces an uphill battle to force action on the IVF bill. So far, the bill has only four GOP cosponsors — Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Mike Lawler (N.Y.), Marc Molinaro (N.Y.) and Anthony D’Esposito (N.Y.).
If all the co-sponsors sign onto the petition, supporters would need just one more Republican to force a vote. But lawmakers rarely buck their leadership and sign discharge petitions, even if they’re cosponsors of the underlying bill.
Immigration news: A bipartisan group of House members — Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.) — hosted an immigration roundtable in the Capitol Tuesday night with more than 100 stakeholders. The group focused on border security, reforming the asylum system and supporting DREAMers, farmworkers and Afghan allies.
