Pro-life group urges Illinois residents to vote no on IVF question

CNA Staff, Sep 18, 2024 / 15:20 pm (CNA).

A pro-life group in Illinois is urging state residents to vote against a question on their ballot related to in vitro fertilization (IVF).

The advisory question, known as the “Assisted Reproductive Health Referendum Act,” which was approved for the Illinois ballot in May, asks Illinoisians if “all medically appropriate assisted reproductive treatments, including, but not limited to, in vitro fertilization” should be “covered by any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides coverage for pregnancy benefits, without limitation on the number of treatments.”

In Illinois, advisory questions are nonbinding and are designed to gauge public opinion and drive voter turnout. The questions approved for this election cycle are an attempt by state Democrats at “boosting turnout by party faithful,” according to the Chicago Tribune.

Illinois Right to Life, a pro-life group active in the state, has expressed opposition to the question, noting that “in vitro fertilization is detrimental to the inherent value of life.”

“All children are equal in the eyes of God and one of the most beautiful vocations in life is becoming a parent. Life in all its stages is precious, including embryos. This absolutely includes children born from in vitro fertilization (IVF),” the group said in a Sept. 14 emailed statement.

“However, it is important to recognize the IVF process can be harmful to new human lives, often commodifies children, and the procedure does not honor the sanctity of life.”

The Catholic Church teaches that while couples struggling to have children can use certain fertility treatments, the use of IVF is “morally unacceptable.” This is because IVF involves the use of artificial means to achieve pregnancy outside of sex between a husband and wife — the marital act — a disassociation that the Church teaches is contrary to the dignity of both parents and children.

In addition, to maximize efficiency, doctors create excess human embryos during the IVF process and routinely destroy or indefinitely freeze millions of undesired embryos.

“We sincerely ask and urge you to vote NO in the advisory referendum regarding in vitro fertilization on the Illinois general election ballot,” Illinois Right to Life said.

Illinois has some of the most permissive abortion laws in the United States, with Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker expanding access to abortion numerous times during his tenure and describing Illinois as an abortion “safe haven.”

In addition, Democratic Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth has led an effort in the U.S. Senate to promote IVF and require insurance companies to cover it.

On Tuesday, U.S. Senate Republicans blocked the latest pro-IVF bill, which would have required that all individual and group health insurance plans that offer childbirth coverage also provide coverage for IVF.

The bill did not include any exemptions for insurance plans provided by employers who have religious or other moral objections to IVF, such as the Catholic Church.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops had come out strongly against the federal legislation, saying that the solution to infertility “can never be a medical process that involves the creation of countless preborn children and results in most of them being frozen or discarded and destroyed.”