Senate Republicans Block Bill Protecting IVF
Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic bill protecting in vitro fertilization, while also working to reassure constituents that they supported access to the popular fertility treatment, underscoring how reproductive health issues have become a political vulnerability for GOP lawmakers. The vote was 48 to 47, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska siding with Democrats in backing the bill. The measure fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance under Senate rules. Democrats said the IVF protections were needed to head off fresh challenges to the procedure. The vote comes just a day after the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant group in the country, voted to oppose the practice, which involves implanting embryos in a woman’s uterus. Earlier this year, Alabama’s highest court found that frozen embryos can be considered children under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, prompting the state legislature to step in to clarify IVF was legal.
The Senate Democrats’ bill aimed to protect in vitro fertilization and ensure it is covered under health insurance for federal employees, among other measures meant to expand access. Republicans accused Democrats of drafting overly broad legislation designed to score political points and scare voters. Ahead of the vote, all 49 Senate Republicans signed a letter backing IVF. “Protecting IVF should be the easiest ‘yes’ vote senators have taken all year,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.). After it was clear the vote would fail, Schumer changed his vote to “no” to preserve the ability to bring it back to the floor. Republicans say that IVF isn’t under any legal or congressional threat, making the vote political theater headed into a November election in which the White House, Senate and House are all up for grabs. In any case, they say, the Democrats’ legislation sprawled beyond the core goal of protecting IVF access and questioned its price tag for taxpayers. “I love IVF,” said Sen. Joni Ernst (R., Iowa), a member of party leadership. “But what the Democrats are proposing? No.”
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