The Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn. is seen Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, the opening day of the state's 2026 legislative session. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

Last week, Republicans in the Minnesota state Senate introduced Senate Bill 4166, legislation that advocates for state agencies to use a discredited reproductive health care practice called restorative reproductive medicine (RRM).

If it were signed into law, SB 4166 would force the Minnesota commissioner of health to integrate RRM information into existing public health programs and provide guidance/support for Title X funded health care facilities to use RRM practices.

What is restorative reproductive medicine?

RRM is a nonmedical approach to treating infertility that heavily focuses on fertility awareness, lifestyle changes and menstrual cycle tracking. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), RRM can expose patients to “needless, painful surgical interventions; limit their access to the full range of evidence-based fertility care interventions; and delay time to pregnancy, while potentially increasing overall costs.”

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) labels RRM as an ideology used for political purposes since it steers patients away from procedures like in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

“It typically excludes IVF and related treatments on moral or religious grounds, not clinical evidence,” ASRM argues. “Its proponents create a false narrative that standard fertility care skips proper diagnosis or healing, when in fact, it is based on precisely those principles.”

Proponents of RRM generally oppose artificial insemination and IVF.

SB 4166 currently has three cosponsors, including state Sens. Julia Coleman (R-Waconia), Jim Abeler (R-Anoka) and Keri Heintzeman (R-Grand Rapids). None of these lawmakers responded to Heartland Signal’s media requests asking them to clarify why they support RRM.

The bill will very likely not become law since the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party controls the Senate and the current governor, Tim Walz, is a member of the DFL.

Republicans are increasingly advocating for RRM

In addition to Minnesota, Republicans in several states are pushing for RRM. Last year, Arkansas became the first state to enact a law that established a state framework for RRM, including requiring insurance companies to cover related treatments. A similar bill was introduced in South Carolina in January.

A federal bill was first introduced by U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) last year, with Sens. James Lankford (R-OK), Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and John Cornyn (R-TX) as cosponsors. The bill would expand federal research, training and awareness of RRM methods.