Republicans, Democrats at odds over IVF bill
(The Center Square) – Senate Democrats voted Tuesday in favor of S 4445, filed by U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-IL, “to protect and expand nationwide access to fertility treatment, including in vitro fertilization.”
It would address access to family building, assistance to veterans and builds on a previous bill she filed, Access to Family Building Act related to “reproductive technology treatments or procedures.” It would authorize the Attorney General to file a civil action against states, local municipalities or entities that enforce limitations or requirements on them” and includes a clause that says it supersedes any state law that conflicts with it, among other provisions.
She filed it after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created through IVF are children under state law. She opposed the ruling, saying it was “based in extreme ideology” that paralleled the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade.
Republicans were hypocrites for voting against it “while continuing to falsely claim that they support IVF,” she said. Her “pro-freedom, pro-family legislation” requires health insurers to cover IVF, and “would establish a nationwide right” to access IVF and other assisted reproductive technology, she says.
She has claimed Republicans were attacking technology and reproductive freedoms and voting against it was a continuation of “their anti-choice, anti-science crusade.”
Her bill failed to pass. Needing 60 votes, only 51 senators voted for it. Two pro-abortion Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted with Democrats, as did three independents; five senators didn’t vote.
Among the many news outlets that claimed that Senate Republicans oppose IVF, NPR reported, “Senate Republicans blocked Democrats bill ensuring access to IVF.” ABC News reported, “Senate Democrats again dare Republicans to vote against IVF bill.” The New York Times reported, “Senate Republicans block IVF bill again, breaking with Trump.” Bloomberg News reported, “Republicans block IVF bill as Democrats sound alarm.”
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called out a local Texas website for reporting that he and Cruz voted against IVF protections, saying “Democrats got the headlines they wanted but ended up killing all federal IVF protections with a show vote. So cynical.”
Senate Republican Whip John Thune, R-SD, also said, “Make no mistake: Senate Republicans support IVF.”
The media outlets failed to mention that Senate Democrats repeatedly blocked a Republican bill that advanced IVF protections.
On May 20, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Alabama, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, filed S 4368 to provide extensive protections for couples choosing to use IVF. It was referred twice to the Senate Committee on Finance and never made it to a vote because Senate Democrats killed it.
In recent months, Senate Democrats twice blocked their bill from having a vote. In June, they asked for unanimous consent to pass it, Britt said, but Senate Democrats blocked it.
The bill would prohibit states from restricting access to IVF services, authorize states to implement health and safety standards for IVF services, and ban states from receiving Medicaid funding if they ban access to IVF. The bill also doesn’t compel any individual or organization to provide IVF services.
It would have safeguarded IVF access but “Democrats chose politics over families,” Britt said. “Our bill is the only bill that protects IVF.” Instead, what happened was a “show vote.”
Cruz also lamented in a floor statement about what happened.
“Unfortunately, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are staging an empty show vote on what they call an IVF bill in order to stoke baseless fears about IVF and push their broader political agenda.
“Let’s be clear. There is not a single senator in this chamber on either side of the aisle who wants to ban IVF. All 100 senators, to the best of my knowledge, support IVF. Not a single one has called for banning it.”
He and other Republicans voted against Duckworth’s bill “because it’s not an IVF bill.”
The bill created a “back door” to federalize broad abortion legislation, he said, “which I understand is the Democrats’ partisan position. But it is contrary to the views of a great many Americans.”
Duckworth’s bill “also deliberately overturns the conscious protections of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” he continued. “It is unfortunate that Democrats have abandoned what used to be a bipartisan commitment to religious liberty.”
Senate Democrats “are now more than willing to overturn religious liberty protections instead of pushing a partisan and frankly cynical agenda.”
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-MS, blasted the bill, arguing it potentially legalizes genetic engineering of human embryos, commercial surrogacy and practices unrelated to IVF. What happened was another “time-wasting show vote” designed to “prop up vulnerable Democrats ahead of an election,” she said. As the Pro-Life Caucus chair, she said she “will always fight for the lives of children” but this bill doesn’t do that.
Britt said, “Americans deserve better. We’ll keep fighting for solutions, not scare tactics.”
Corrections and Clarifications
This story and headline has been edited since initial publication to correctly state that the bill voted on in the U.S. Senate does regard IVF protections.