House Republicans are at each other's throats over a right-wing hardliner's repeated efforts to restrict funding for in vitro fertilization services.
Why it matters: Most Republicans have strained to put their pro-IVF politics on display, with two GOP lawmakers planning to introduce a bill aimed at bolstering the party's credibility on the issue, Axios has learned.
- Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) told Axios she and Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) are introducing a House version of a Senate GOP bill that would restrict Medicaid funding to states that ban IVF.
- Both lawmakers have come under fire from Democrats for co-sponsoring the Life at Conception Act, which would "grant equal protection" at "all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization."
Driving the news: Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) has made a crusade out of trying to roll back federal funding for IVF in the wake of an Alabama Supreme Court ruling in February that chilled access to fertility services in the state.
- Rosendale and several fellow members of the right-wing Freedom Caucus sent Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough a letter in March raising "strong objections" to an expansion of IVF services for veterans.
- Rosendale introduced amendments to bills funding the VA and the Department of Defense that would have prohibited funding for IVF — both of which were blocked from getting a floor vote.
- Most recently, Rosendale has adorned his D.C. office with anti-IVF messaging saying it "destroys more life than Planned Parenthood."
What we're hearing: Rosendale's anti-IVF campaign has frustrated Republican colleagues, who say he is out of step with the overwhelming majority of the party and risks handing ammunition to Democrats.
- Mace called the efforts "absurd, moronic," adding, "100% they're going to be used [by Democrats]. Already my opponent in the general election is saying I oppose IVF, but nothing could be further from the truth."
- Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), who said he and his wife struggled to conceive a child, told Axios of Rosendale's anti-IVF push: "Dealing with it personally ... and watching someone like that, I think it's gross."
- "It's not where Montana is," said Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), the other member of Montana's two-person House delegation.
Between the lines: Miller noted that former President Trump has warned Republicans to be strategic on reproductive rights and stressed it should remain a state matter rather than a federal one.
What they're saying: "I'm going to be having conversations with my colleagues because coming from a legislative body that actually did function, I know that sometimes the first time you bring something through it doesn't happen," Rosendale, a former state lawmaker, told Axios in an interview.
- "I implore everyone to go out and get educated. And if you believe life begins at conception, as I do, and as many of my colleagues say they do, then you can't reconcile us supporting [IVF]."
Zoom out: The tussle over IVF touches on a broader antipathy between many House Republicans and Rosendale, a bombastic hardliner who was among the most stubborn rebels against former Speaker Kevin McCarthy's leadership.
- "I just don't get it, but I've spent 18 months trying to figure it out," one House Republican said.
- Another House Republican blasted his anti-IVF effort as "f**king stupid."
What to watch: Some Republicans in swing districts insist they aren't worried about Rosendale's attempts to get an IVF vote on the floor.
- "I'm just going to vote 'no'. I can't worry about things I don't control," said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.).
- Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.) said he is "okay to vote on" Rosendale's amendments because "I am pro IVF."
Yes, but: Democrats aren't letting Republicans off the hook.
- "The Republican Party can't keep their story straight on IVF. They say they support it, but Republicans like Matt Rosendale keep trying to ban IVF," Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), a co-chair of House Democrats' political messaging arm, said in a statement to Axios.
- Trahan said Republicans should "force Speaker Johnson to call a vote" on Democrats' IVF bill to show they are "serious" about protecting access.
