In The News
Sen. Tammy Duckworth says Alabama's new law protecting IVF "does not go far enough"
Birmingham, Alabama — A champagne toast was held Thursday at Alabama Fertility in Birmingham, celebrating the return of in vitro fertilization procedures one day after the Alabama legislature passed legislation to protect IVF services. Nearly half the state's clinics had paused procedures after a controversial ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court last month determined that frozen embryos are considered children. Three embryo transfers were performed at Alabama Fertility on Thursday, just … Continue Reading
March 07, 2024
Democrats invite women affected by abortion and IVF rulings to Biden’s State of the Union
WASHINGTON — Democrats are putting reproductive rights front and center at the State of the Union on Thursday night, inviting guests affected by the Supreme Court’s reversal of federal abortion protections and Alabama’s controversial court ruling on in vitro fertilization last month. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., will bring with him the nation’s first IVF baby, Elizabeth Carr, who was born in 1981. “I was aware of her story after the Alabama decision,” Kaine told NBC News on Wednesday. “I saw an … Continue Reading
February 29, 2024
Senate Republican blocks bill to protect IVF after Alabama ruling
A Republican senator has blocked legislation that would protect in vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technologies in the wake of an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children under state law. Prominent Republican officials and candidates have voiced support for IVF since the Alabama ruling, though Democrats have responded with skepticism, arguing that the GOP paved the way for the ruling with antiabortion policies. The effort by Sen. Tammy Duckworth … Continue Reading
February 29, 2024
The Transportation Department proposes new rules for how airlines handle wheelchairs
WASHINGTON — For people who use wheelchairs, air travel can be a nightmare. There are countless stories of wheelchairs damaged, delayed and even destroyed. Now the Biden administration is trying to change that by proposing new standards for how airlines must accommodate passengers with disabilities. "Transportation is still inaccessible for far too many people, and that's certainly true for aviation," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a call with reporters. "This is about … Continue Reading
February 29, 2024
Feds propose steep fines when airlines damage wheelchairs
(CNN) — Airlines damaged or lost more than 11,000 passenger wheelchairs last year - and a new federal proposal seeks cut the inconvenience for wheelchair-reliant travelers with six-figure penalties against airlines. The Department of Transportation proposal, unveiled Thursday, would establish new airline passenger rights. Those include the right of immediate notification when a wheelchair is lost or damaged, the right to a loaner and the right to choose how the wheelchair is repaired. It … Continue Reading
February 28, 2024
US Senate Republicans Block Democrats' Bill Assuring Right to IVF
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democrats on Wednesday failed in an attempt to rush legislation through the U.S. Senate guaranteeing Americans' access to in vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technologies, after an Alabama court designated frozen embryos as children. The state Supreme Court ruling on Feb. 16 that frozen embryos should be considered children prompted at least three Alabama providers to halt the IVF procedure that involves combining eggs and sperm in a laboratory dish … Continue Reading
February 28, 2024
Republican blocks Senate Democrats' push to pass IVF protections nationwide
Sen. Tammy Duckworth was blocked by Republicans on Wednesday from unanimously passing legislation to establish a right to access assistive reproductive care like in vitro fertilization -- a push spurred by a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that embryos are children, which has upended IVF in the state. Before attempting to pass the bill, Duckworth gave a passionate speech and shared her own experiences with IVF, through which she conceived her two children. "It made my heart whole, it … Continue Reading
February 27, 2024
For Duckworth, the Alabama embryo court ruling is personal
Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s journey to begin a family was not a smooth one. And without in-vitro fertilization, it would have been an improbable one. The Illinois Democrat told National Journal that she had put family plans on pause for her military career. “My unit that I had just left command of was notified that it was deploying to Iraq,” she said. “At which point, of course, I volunteered to go with them because I couldn’t see letting the unit that I commanded for three years go off to war … Continue Reading
February 27, 2024
Duckworth leads reproductive rights charge after Alabama IVF ruling
WASHINGTON - Democratic senators, led by Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, are pushing for the protection of reproductive rights in the aftermath of a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling regarding in vitro fertilization (IVF). The ruling, which deemed frozen embryos created through IVF as children under state law, has sparked outcry among lawmakers advocating for reproductive freedoms. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer joined Senator Duckworth and fellow Democrats on Tuesday to unveil the … Continue Reading
February 27, 2024
Sen. Tammy Duckworth to bring up vote on bill to protect access to IVF nationwide
Washington — Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, said she plans to bring up a vote on legislation that would safeguard access to in vitro fertilization nationwide on Wednesday, as the issue has come into the political spotlight in recent weeks following a ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that has led clinics in the state to halt the treatments. "They aren't just going to stop in Alabama. Mark my words, if we don't act now, it will only get worse," Duckworth said at a news … Continue Reading
February 27, 2024
Duckworth, trying to compel suddenly pro-IVF Republicans, pushes protections bill
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said she will bring her bill to protect a federal right of access to in vitro fertilization to the U.S. Senate floor on Feb. 28. In the wake of concerns raised by the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision last week declaring that embryos used in IVF were children, Duckworth said she hoped Republicans would not block a move to adopt the Access to Family Building Act by unanimous consent. “Let’s see tomorrow, when the rubber hits the road, whether they show up and show … Continue Reading
February 27, 2024
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth demands vote on federally protecting IVF treatments
CHICAGO (CBS) -- U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) is demanding a vote Wednesday on a bill to protect in-vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments federally. "My girls are my everything. I likely would not have ever been able to have them had I not had access to basic reproductive rights that Americans, up until recently, had been depending on for decades," Duckworth said. Her renewed push for the bill comes after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos should be … Continue Reading
February 25, 2024
Duckworth: ‘It’s been crickets’ from GOP colleagues on bill to protect IVF
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) went after her GOP colleagues on Sunday, claiming their words defending in vitro fertilization (IVF) are empty after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling last week. The ruling handed down Monday classifies fertilized embryos as children, meaning failed IVF procedures could result in criminal charges for hospitals and doctors. Multiple major Alabama hospitals have stopped offering IVF because of the decision. Duckworth said no GOP colleagues have supported her bill … Continue Reading
February 25, 2024
Sen. Duckworth skeptical Republicans will back IVF bill after court rules embryos are people
Reacting to a controversial new Alabama Supreme Court ruling that embryos should be considered people under the law, Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth said on Sunday that she was "devastated" for how this could affect treatments like in vitro fertilization. She also called out conservatives whom she suggested were being disingenuous in distancing themselves from the case. "Let's make it clear: Republicans will say whatever they need to say to try to cover themselves on this, but they've been … Continue Reading
February 18, 2024
Sen. Tammy Duckworth visits Sweden to deliver message that NATO allies can continue to count on the U.S.
WASHINGTON — Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is in Sweden, where she is meeting with Swedish defense and foreign affairs officials as the nation is poised to join NATO at a time when the GOP presidential frontrunner, Donald Trump, seeking another White House term, is encouraging Vladimir Putin to attack members of the alliance. Duckworth traveled to Sweden over the weekend — and will continue on to the Netherlands later this week — with two missions on the agenda. She is a member of the Armed … Continue Reading
February 15, 2024
Bipartisan Senate bill seeks to improve emergency communications for first responders
A new bipartisan Senate bill would codify the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s research and engineering laboratory and task it with developing technologies for tracking and communicating with people trapped in confined spaces. The ITS Codification Act from Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., calls for the NTIA’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences to function as the federal government’s primary lab for studying radio frequency … Continue Reading
February 09, 2024
DNC Chicago 2024 host committee tours Chinatown ahead of Lunar New Year
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Democratic National Convention host committee is touring local neighborhoods, with their first stop being Chicago's Chinatown just ahead of Lunar New Year. Nearly 2 billion people around the world will celebrate Lunar New Year starting on Saturday, February 10. Many in Chinatown hope this year of the dragon will usher in some extra good fortune. Friday, Senator Tammy Duckworth led the DNC host committee on a tour of the historic neighborhood, stopping by Ichiban Candy … Continue Reading
February 06, 2024
Former pilot Duckworth gave Boeing's CEO an earful — and he listened
She’s been chair of the Senate’s aviation subcommittee for only a year, but Tammy Duckworth is making her presence felt. When the Illinois senator and former Army helicopter pilot told Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun he should drop his request for a safety waiver on a new, smaller version of the 737 that’s still awaiting FAA certification, Calhoun took her advice. The company dropped its request for a waiver related to the 737 Max-7 for a known de-icing issue, even though it’s likely to cost Boeing … Continue Reading
January 31, 2024
Illinois has the tools and talent to power America’s next stage of semiconductor tech
The world is changing. In the last few decades, technology has permeated every facet of our day-to-day lives. Foreign adversaries now often use technological prowess rather than tanks and troops to project power undermining the very values America holds dear. Over the past 20 years, the United States has lost a third of all jobs in its semiconductor industry, while the global industry has tripled in size. As the cost of domestic semiconductor production increased, our nation was unable to … Continue Reading
January 31, 2024
Duckworth, Durbin announce more than $2.8M in federal support for solar power throughout Illinois
U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth(D-IL) and Dick Durbin(D-IL) have announced $2,869,784 to help businesses in rural Illinois transition to solar power. This funding is through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program. According to a release from the U.S. Senate, the funding will help selectees purchase and install solar arrays to help power their businesses while saving recipients money on power costs, conserving energy and creating good-paying jobs. The following … Continue Reading