Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a Democratic-led effort to advance legislation that would guarantee nationwide access to in vitro fertilization, instead backing a GOP alternative bill.
Senate Republicans blocked the bill from moving forward on a procedural vote of 48-47, with only Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowska (R-Alaska) joining the Democrats. The bill needed 60 votes to pass.
Many complained about the specifics of the IVF bill of rights language and accused Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of setting up a show vote rather than working to find a viable solution to the issue.
“Senate Democrats have employed a summer of scare tactics, a partisan campaign of false fear-mongering aimed at misleading and confusing the American people,” the Republican Senatorial Conference said. It said in a statement.
“IVF is legal and available in every state across the U.S., and we strongly support continued nationwide access to IVF, which has enabled millions of aspiring parents to build and grow their families.”
The critics opposed the clause The IVF rights law includes provisions such as requiring private health insurance to cover assisted reproductive treatments without exemptions for religious reasons.
The IVF Bill of Rights, authored by Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), follows an Alabama Supreme Court ruling in February that declared that a fertilized egg in an IVF procedure is a fetus.
President Biden and Democrats were quick to jump on the Republican vote against the IVF Bill of Rights.
“Senate Republicans have once again refused to protect access to fertility treatment for women desperate to conceive,” Biden said in a statement.
“And last week, Republican senators blocked nationwide protections for birth control. Disregarding women’s rights to make these decisions for themselves and their families is outrageous and unacceptable,” he added. Republicans vote against birth control bill Republicans said it was too far-fetched.
“Despite claiming to support IVF, Senate Republicans blocked my IVF Rights Act. This is the third time they have blocked a bill to protect IVF nationwide. That’s what Republicans are like.” Duckworth rebuked..
Sens. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Wednesday renewed their push for the IVF Alternatives Protection Act, which they introduced several weeks ago, in a bill Democrats argued is riddled with loopholes that state legislatures could exploit.
“There is only one reason why Democrats blocked the IVF Protection Act yesterday: to preserve a key scare tactic ahead of November. While Democrats will make scare-mongering a priority, Republicans will continue to fight for policies that strengthen families.” Britt made the allegations on Thursday..
Also on Wednesday, the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, approved a resolution rejecting IVF, declaring it allows for the “destruction of human fetal life.”
Since the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, Democrats have stepped up their attacks on Republicans on reproductive issues.
They have been trying to put Republicans on the defensive over IVF since the Alabama ruling.
Following this decision, several IVF clinics suspended operations, fearing they would face criminal penalties if they intentionally or negligently destroyed frozen embryos in their laboratories. Alabama subsequently passed a law giving IVF clinics criminal and civil immunity.
largely excluded from public debate My parents The court decision was prompted by a lawsuit brought by a woman who suffered the tragedy of losing an embryo due to a laboratory malfunction, but the case also sparked a fierce national debate about IVF.
IVF is a procedure in which eggs and sperm are combined in a laboratory with the goal of initiating pregnancy, especially in patients with medical complications. Due to the complex nature of fertilization, IVF can sometimes produce an excess of embryos or non-viable embryos.
Republican lawmakers emphasized their support for IVF and argued that no state actually bans the procedure.
“Once again, Democrats have chosen to politicize a deeply personal issue for short-term gain. Let me be clear: I support IVF,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) asserted Thursday.
“Promoting a bill that is haphazardly drafted and doomed to fail does a disservice to all women who could potentially access IVF treatment.”
House Democrats had been preparing a petition for immunity to bring a bill similar to the IVF Rights Act to the House for consideration.
Republicans are also working on messaging bills to get Democrats to vote in ways that are inconvenient to them.
The House has been considering several resolutions on Israel that exploit infighting among progressives over Israel’s war with Hamas.
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday to uphold broader access to mifepristone, part of a two-drug combination commonly used to induce abortions.
