Hickenlooper: “The door is open right now for all of us to show our constituents that American families are more important than playing politics.”
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper spoke on the Senate floor directly prior to the Senate vote on the Right to IVF Act, a bill that would establish a right to in vitro fertilization (IVF) services nationwide and help make IVF treatment more affordable for Americans hoping to start a family. Less than two hours later, Senate Republicans blocked the bill from proceeding in a 48-47 vote.
“Every time I look at [my son Jack], I remember the doctor telling my wife Robin and I that we had literally a one-in-a-million chance of naturally conceiving a child,” said Hickenlooper on the Senate floor. “If red states like Alabama had their way, Robin’s and my story would have ended there… In vitro gave us what we’d hoped for. It gave us our one-in-a-million.”
“We’re standing here voting on this today because the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, seizing the rights of millions of women, same-sex couples, and families like our own in the process,” Hickenlooper continued. “In the aftermath of the Roe decision, we’ve seen red states and MAGA Republicans trying to roll back rights to abortion, to in vitro, and even contraception.”
“Every family should have that same opportunity. And to restrict that opportunity in some states but not in others, or for some people but not for others, is nothing more than anti-American. Aren’t we the country that stands for equality and freedom?”
In his remarks, Hickenlooper shared his family’s personal experience with IVF. Hickenlooper and his wife Robin welcomed their son Jack, born through IVF, in December 2022.
To download full video of Hickenlooper’s remarks, click HERE. A full transcript of his remarks is available below:
“This is my son, Jack, who I think you know.
“Every time I look at him I remember the doctor telling my wife Robin and I that we had literally a one-in-a-million chance of naturally conceiving a child. A one-in-a-million chance.
“Like so many other couples in America, we had experienced a family health issue that would make having a child very difficult and exceedingly unlikely. All but impossible.
“You don’t know how hard it is to hear something so definitive, so final, until you’re in that situation.
“It was the end of a dream we had to create a child together. To grow our little family. Our family that, like so many others, didn’t have the usual path to this point. The usual path that makes having children without medical help all but certain.
“But regardless of what the doctor was telling us, we knew that we would welcome a child with more love and care than I could ever put into words. If we’d only had the chance.
“If red states like Alabama had their way, Robin’s and my story would have ended there.
“In inconsolable heartbreak at what might’ve been. What should’ve been.
“Thankfully for us, we don’t live in an America as envisioned by MAGA Republican extremists in Alabama. One-in-a-million odds wasn’t the end of our dream. It was just the start of a new part.
“That part was called in vitro fertilization.
“Now, it’s not an easy process. It comes with its ups and downs, its uncertainties, and tremendous costs, both economic and emotional. But it meant our dream could still come true.
“And in December of 2022, my wife and I welcomed this amazing little man – Jack Hickenlooper – into our family.
“In vitro gave us what we’d hoped for. It gave us our one-in-a-million.
“And we’re not the only ones.
“In 2022 alone, more than 2,300 babies were born in Colorado through fertility services. And across the country it was nearly a hundred thousand families.
“Now, so many families like ours are cherishing the sacred experience of staring into your own child’s eyes, when they take off the sunglasses. And of that child staring back.
“Every family should have that same opportunity. And to restrict that opportunity in some states but not in others, or for some people but not for others, is nothing more than anti-American. Aren’t we the country that stands for equality and freedom?
“We’re standing here voting on this today because the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, seizing the rights of millions of women, same-sex couples, and families like our own in the process.
“Don’t take my word for it. Look at Alabama. We’ve already seen in vitro services stopped cold in the state of Alabama.
“And that’s not all. In the aftermath of the Roe decision, we’ve seen red states and MAGA Republicans trying to roll back rights to abortion, to in vitro, and even contraception.
“Banning contraception. In America. In 2024.
“The door is open right now for all of us to show our constituents that American families are more important than playing politics. And I certainly hope we all do.”
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