Wild highlights IVF support by inviting Bethlehem mom to State of the Union address

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Susan Wild will host a Bethlehem woman who's relied on IVF treatments to grow her family as her guest at Thursday's State of the Union address.

Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, has found herself at the center of a national debate over access to assisted reproductive technology, including in vitro fertilization.

In January, she quietly introduced a bill that would guarantee a woman's right to the treatments. A few weeks later, the issue exploded into the national discourse after the Alabama Supreme Court determined that frozen embryos created in a lab through IVF are legally children. Several fertility treatments across Alabama halted IVF treatments as a result.

With President Joe Biden set to deliver his State of the Union address, Wild has invited Christie Nicas, a Bethlehem woman who's relied on IVF treatment to twice expand her family. The invitation, Wild said, is meant to establish her commitment to protecting fertility treatments. About 1-in-6 couples undergo some form of infertility, making it an incredibly common issue.

“I think it's such as shame that in a time when we are seeing such wonderful medical advances that we are also seeing a rollback of rights that would preclude some people from taking advantage of those amazing medical advances,” Wild said.

Both chambers of the Alabama Legislature have advanced bills that would provide fertility clinics protection from lawsuits as a way of restoring IVF treatments. Wild has claimed those measures don't go far enough in that it would still identify embryos as children and would leave the door open for courts or lawmakers in other states to make similar decisions.

Nicas said she and her husband had their first child with little difficulty but experienced a rude awakening when they tried to grow their family from there.

After other treatments failed, she underwent the financially, emotionally and physically daunting IVF experience, she said. She could only afford to undergo the expensive process thanks to family support and being included on a medical study.

But pursuing the dream of parenthood was worth the sacrifices, she said.

“It's an honor not only for myself and my family but also for the countless IVF families around the country who share similar experiences and journeys,” Nicas said.

Wild has acknowledged her Access to Family Building Act faces long odds of getting through Congress. The House has struggled to find common ground on even the basics of governing thanks to a nearly even split of Democrats and Republicans and historic tumult within the Republican Party.

“Your chances are probably better of conceiving a child through IVF are better than they are of getting this bill passed,” Wild said.

The success rate of IVF ranges from case to case, but it generally runs from 70% to 80% in younger women to 50% in women over 40, according to Ndeye-Aicha Gueye, Lehigh Valley Health Network's division director for reproductive endocrinology and infertility.

Gueye, who was also Nicas' doctor, noted that access to fertility treatments was a problem long before the Alabama court's ruling. Most states, including Pennsylvania, do not require insurers to cover the high cost of IVF.

“It should not be a political issue. It should be a basic human right,” Gueye said.

The plus-ones to the president's annual address provide a subtle way for politicos to highlight pet causes, take a symbolic stand or show solidarity with their district. Wild's past guests include the family of Marvin Gruber, one of two New Tripoli firefighters killed in a December 2022 blaze; Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott; and Yamelisa Taveras, a community activist who's had to ration insulin.

Reproductive rights have proven to be popular among Democrats this address — U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has invited Elizabeth Carr, the first person to be born through the IVF process. Several others have invited women who have had to travel outside their home states to undergo abortions.

Some Republicans, meanwhile, have focused on law and order. U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is hosting a U.S. Border Patrol union leader to emphasize the historically high border crossings occurring under the Biden administration. Reps. Anthony D’Esposito and Nicole Malliotakis, both R-N.Y., have invited two New York City police officers who were caught on camera being assaulted in Times Square in January. 

Similarly, presidents use the prime-time address to rally support to their administration, promote their successes and urge action for their causes. Last year, Biden talked up the nation's low unemployment rate, highlighted the number of bipartisan pieces of legislation he's signed into law and noted inflation was falling. 

This time around, it will provide Biden with a chance to face the nation as it gears up for the 2024 election cycle — an all but inevitable rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Trump's final opponent in the GOP primary, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, suspended her campaign Wednesday after a drubbing in the Super Tuesday primaries.

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