WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) today demanded answers from Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for eliminating the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) team responsible for making sure people who are trying to become parents have the information they need to thoughtfully and safely grow their families—despite Donald Trump’s broken promise to support families seeking IVF treatments.
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“Because IVF is a complicated and expensive process, the American people deserve access to the best information possible to inform their family building journey. Unfortunately, hollowing out National Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Surveillance System capabilities and capacity is consistent with Donald Trump’s deceitful and disingenuous rhetoric on IVF,” the Senators wrote in a letter to HHS Secretary Kennedy. “Your actions threaten hopeful parents and families’ ability to access high-quality, safe, and effective fertility care. The American people deserve assurances that their rights under the [Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act of 1992] will continue to be guaranteed, as Congress intended.”
The Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance and Research team (ARTS) was established following a 1992 Wyden law passed by Congress aimed at guaranteeing consumer protections for people seeking to grow their family through IVF and other assisted reproductive technology. The fired team of six deeply qualified scientists and public health practitioners were responsible for carrying out the CDC’s mandated responsibilities under the Wyden law, including conducting IVF clinic data analysis related to success rates and important clinic oversight through yearly audits and site visits and the monitoring of lab certification status.
ARTS served as a critical source of unbiased information for patients seeking fertility treatment, collecting and maintaining data on approximately 98 percent of all IVF and assisted reproductive technology cycles performed in the United States.
In addition to Duckworth, Wyden, Murray and Booker, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), John Hickenlooper (D-DO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Full text of the letter is available on Senator Duckworth’s website.
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