GOP-led House rejects Republican congressman's amendment to ban taxpayer funding for IVF at Pentagon

The GOP-led House Rules Committee has rejected an amendment by Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale to keep taxpayer-funded IVF treatments for Pentagon personnel out of the chamber's propose defense spending bill.

The amendment by the Montana congressman was among 193 proposed for the bill.

IVF, an abbreviation for in vetro fertilization, helps women who have problems becoming pregnant. The process involves fertilizing a women's egg or eggs with sperm in a laboratory dish.

Ethical concerns about IVF were spotlighted in February when the Alabama Supreme Court declared that embryos created through such treatments should be considered children.

"While I feel for couples that are unable to have children, the practice of IVF is morally wrong, and I refuse to support any legislation that condones its use," Rosendale said about his now rejected amendment.

The text of the amendment reads: "Defunds assisted reproductive technology that includes any infertility treatments or technologies including IVF to ensure human life is protected."

After the Alabama court ruling, GOP Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill into law to protect IVF patients and providers from the legal liability imposed on them. And providers in the state have since resumed some services. 

Rosendale also said: "My amendment will strip funding for this practice, which is responsible for the destruction of life to the tune of hundreds of thousands of children a year. If you are opposed to abortion, you should be opposed to the practice of IVF, which destroys twice as much life as Planned Parenthood yearly."