When my wife Grace and I decided we were ready to start a family, we were in for a rude awakening. Like tens of thousands of Americans each year, our doctor informed us that, due to a genetic condition and infertility on my part, we’d have to pursue pregnancy through in vitro fertilization.
Navigating infertility was long, exhausting, and at times heartbreaking. There were endless blood draws, medications that left me nauseated or sore and hundreds of injections over more than two years. None of it was easy, and it wasn’t guaranteed to work.
The procedures were expensive. We’re lucky to have insurance that covered much of the IVF treatment and family support to make up the rest. Millions of Americans don’t have that privilege. In Illinois’ 2nd District, where I’m running for Congress, 39,000 people will lose health coverage in 2026 under the Republican budget. For families facing infertility, that means their dreams of parenthood may never become a reality.
Through it all, we carried the constant fear that even if we did everything right, our embryos might not survive or that a pregnancy could end in loss. So when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are legally “children” — opening the potential for wrongful death lawsuits against fertility clinics and as a result, hampering efforts of hopeful parents — it felt personal.
Grace and I felt helpless as we went through fertility treatment and watched Republicans pursue perverse and unscientific tactics to undermine IVF access. We felt, personally and urgently, how important it was that these decisions stay between us and our doctors — not a bunch of politicians.
Somehow, the Republicans didn’t anticipate the tidal wave of national outrage that their attacks on IVF would create. The dream of starting or expanding a family isn’t a partisan issue, and access to IVF is extremely popular across both parties. In 2023, nearly 96,000 babies were born from IVF, up from the year before, accounting for almost 3% of all births in the U.S. Yet Republicans continue blocking a bill sponsored by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., that would protect IVF nationwide.
The Republican push for “fetal personhood” — the policy of giving fetuses, embryos and zygotes full human rights — is not a fringe or hypothetical idea. Seventeen states have established fetal rights by law or judicial decision, and it is laid out in detail in Project 2025, the blueprint for President Donald Trump’s policy agenda. Its backers also claim that the 14th Amendment, which was written after the Civil War to guarantee equal protection for living people, somehow extends the rights to fertilized eggs. That is a gross distortion of history and law. The 14th Amendment was designed to ensure that formerly enslaved people and all citizens are treated equally under the law, not to criminalize reproductive care patients and providers.
These extreme arguments aren’t happening in a vacuum. Project 2025 lays out a plan to destroy reproductive rights, whether by attempting to revoke the Federal Drug Administration’s authorization of the abortion medication mifepristone, weaponizing federal Medicaid dollars or banning Medicaid patients from accessing preventive care at Planned Parenthood, among other tactics. We can’t let down our guard for even a moment.
All of this is happening as Trump frames himself as a champion of fertility care. He even signed an executive order on the topic in February, but that order did nothing to change policy. In fact, it was a solicitation for policy recommendations. And while the White House lowered some fertility drug costs and let employers offer separate fertility benefits, there’s still no guarantee that IVF will be covered. Families heard campaign promises of “free IVF for everyone,” and many believed help was on the way. Instead, people are having to delay care, are confused about coverage, and some are starting treatment based on promises that may never materialize. Trump and his anti-abortion operatives are, once again, playing politics with people’s lives.
Illinois has five new congressional seats opening up next year. Each one is a chance to elect leaders who will stand as a bulwark against attacks on our safety and freedoms. We need to move beyond the status quo and fight for bold policies like Medicare for All, universal child care and reproductive justice for everyone.
Our IVF journey was successful. Grace and I are expecting our first child at the end of March, just weeks after Election Day. The timing feels symbolic. This experience has made me even more motivated to protect our rights in Congress. It’s more important than ever to have leaders in Washington, D.C., who understand the government doesn’t know better than a pregnant patient about what is right for their bodies or their families.
My child’s future, and all of ours, depend on it.
State Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, represents Illinois’ 13th District. He is a congressional candidate in Illinois’ 2nd District.