Remember Donald Trump claiming that he’s a “leader” on IVF? He’s apparently not the kind of leader who can get his MAGA followers in the U.S. Senate to fall in line to protect the access of American families to IVF services.
Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked the Right to IVF Act, legislation to protect and expand access to in-vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technology services nationwide.
The measure got a 51-44 vote in favor, but 51 yes votes is still nine short of the 60 needed under the Senate’s archaic filibuster rule that both parties hold sacrosanct.
Two Republicans – Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine – voted with Democrats in favor of the legislation.
Notably, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Trump’s running mate, wasn’t even in town to cast a vote one way or the other.
It’s not like Trump hasn’t gotten his way on other legislative priorities during his ex officio tenure. Trump, for instance, worked the phones earlier this year to get Senate Republicans to kill a bipartisan compromise on border security, and he has House Republicans on the verge of shutting down the federal government to get a voter-suppression bill for a floor vote.
The flimsy reason that we got from Republicans today for blocking the IVF bill from passing: “There’s no state that is endangering IVF. This is the way they create the illusion there is,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La.
Which, no, that’s not true. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that frozen embryos are children, and that those who destroy them could be held liable for wrongful death; the decision, reproductive-rights advocates fear, could have a chilling impact on infertility treatments going forward in the 19 states with fetal-personhood laws on the books.
“Virginians and all Americans deserve the ability to make their own decisions about their health and whether and when to start a family without government interference,” U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said after the failed vote. “Since the first IVF baby in America, Elizabeth Carr, was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1981, millions of Americans have turned to IVF as a beacon of hope to start or grow their families. I’m not done fighting to make IVF and ART services available and affordable for any American who wants or needs them.”
The Right to IVF Act included provisions from the Access to Family Building Act, Veteran Families Health Services Act, and Family Building FEHB Fairness Act.
The Access to Family Building Act would establish a statutory right for individuals to access IVF and ART services and for providers to provide IVF and ART services. The Veteran Families Health Services Act would enhance fertility treatment and counseling options for veterans and servicemembers, and expand servicemembers’ access to fertility services before deployment to a combat zone or hazardous duty assignment and after an injury or illness.
The Family Building FEHB Fairness Act would require that insurance providers for more than 8 million federal employees provide coverage for IVF and ART.
“For many Americans who dream of starting a family, access to IVF can make all the difference,” U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said. “Unfortunately, in the years since Roe v. Wade was overturned, we’ve continued to see states and legislatures across the county chip away at a woman’s right to access reproductive care, including IVF. I am baffled and disappointed to see so many of my Republican colleagues vote to block this pro-family legislation, which would have protected the right to IVF, provided support to veterans who want to grow their families, and increase IVF affordability under insurance.”
Video: Donald Trump exposed on IVF
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Chris Graham
