U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is one of several members of a Senate committee calling for an audit of the safety of in vitro fertilization and the clinics where it is conducted around the country.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., in a letter Thursday is requesting the Department of Health and Human Services audit the safety standards of IVF and assisted reproductive technology, or ART, in U.S. clinics.

Tuberville signed the four-page letter, along with Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.

“Mothers in this situation make a substantial emotional, financial, and personal investment, and rightly expect that fertility clinics will protect and respect human life — and keep treasured embryos safe,” the senators wrote.

It is the latest clash involving IVF between Republicans and Democrats since the Alabama Supreme Court in February ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. Several clinics in the state suspended IVF treatments until the state enacted a law to provide legal protections for IVF clinics.

Last week, all Senate Republicans except Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine voted against a bill that would make it a right nationwide for women to access in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments.

Democrats in turn blocked a Republican bill by Alabama Sen. Katie Britt to protect in vitro fertilization procedures. She said it was because it would deprive them of political ammunition in November.

A spokesperson for Cassidy told The Washington Examiner that he supports IVF and only wants to improve security for mothers and families.

“As Congress considers legislation related to IVF, we respectfully request that (the department) provide an evaluation and assessment of how well ART clinic oversight is working to better enable Congress to evaluate what changes may need to be made,” the letter states.

The letter states that parents do not have adequate information about safety standards in clinics that offer IVF. It goes on to list accidents at cryogenics labs where embryos were destroyed without parental consent, or implanted in the wrong biological mother.

It lists two incidents, in San Francisco and Cleveland, where thousands of embryos and eggs were destroyed.