Last week, Republican lawmakers Sen. Howard Marklein and Rep. Jessie Rodriguez circulated new legislation that aims to address issues related to infertility treatments in Wisconsin through additional tax credits. In response, Sen. Kelda Roys criticized the move as insufficient and politically motivated.
Sen. Roys, who introduced the Building Families Act (SB 556) in October, stated: “Wisconsinites struggling with infertility deserve to be able to build their families without breaking the bank—including fertility treatments and fertility preservation.
“Unfortunately, anti-choice politicians have a long record of criminalizing pregnancy loss and opposing IVF and other infertility treatments. Over many years, anti-choice politicians like Sen. Marklein and Rep. Rodriguez have voted multiple times against measures to ensure access to IVF, including stripping our budget provision that would have enabled infertility treatments to be covered by insurance and voting against guaranteeing a right to IVF.
“In fact, they’ve even refused to support a bipartisan, non-binding resolution to honor Infertility Awareness Month. Their anti-family record is coming back to haunt them, and now these newly vulnerable legislators are scrambling to appear as though they don’t oppose IVF when they’ve spent years voting against it.
“As for the practicality of their politically-motivated legislation, just one cycle of IVF can cost between $20-30,000, and several cycles are often required to achieve pregnancy. This stunt will do nothing to help additional Wisconsin couples have children, except those who can already afford it.
“Wealth should not be a prerequisite to having children. The Building Families Act is a meaningful solution to help more couples build the family of their dreams.”
Senator Roys represents Wisconsin’s 26th Senate District in Dane County—a region that includes urban, suburban and rural communities—and serves on several legislative committees such as the Joint Committee on Finance according to her official biography. She has also been involved in efforts focused on reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ rights through caucus participation as detailed on her official website. Her background includes service in the State Assembly from 2009 until 2013 and work with organizations like ACLU of Wisconsin.
Roys holds degrees from New York University and the University of Wisconsin Law School , reflecting her ongoing engagement with legal work and community initiatives.