Republicans block Democratic bill on IVF protections

Senate Republicans blocked passage on Tuesday of a Democratic bill that would federally protect access to in vitro fertilization and require public and private insurance coverage of IVF and other fertility treatments.

Just as they did when they voted down the same bill earlier this year, Republicans argued the measure was both unnecessary and problematically broad, and dismissed it as a political stunt they felt no pressure to endorse.

“It’s a messaging opportunity,” said Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), adding that the bill has unspecified “poison pills that Republicans find unacceptable.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), a member of GOP leadership, called it a “cynical show vote” and criticized Democrats for not allowing Republicans to offer amendments.

“Same song, second verse,” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said. “Democrats pretending they’re doing something on this.”

The 51-44 vote fell far short of the 60-vote threshold Democrats needed to overcome a filibuster. Only Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) broke with the rest of the GOP to support the bill.

The vote also came on the heels of former President Donald Trump pitching himself as “a leader on fertilization, IVF” in his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, and pledging on the campaign trail to make IVF free for all Americans, whether through direct taxpayer funding or a requirement that insurance companies cover procedures.

Democrats have focused on IVF in the runup to the November election, arguing in speeches, ads and on their party’s convention stage that an ongoing threat stems from the fall of Roe v. Wade, which Republicans take credit for.

Trump’s promise has drawn significant pushback from two flanks of the Republican Party: small-government deficit hawks outraged by the idea of an expensive new federal mandate and religious conservatives who oppose IVF as commonly practiced in the U.S. The latter group believes that creating excess embryos, implanting the most viable ones, and discarding the rest is akin to an abortion.

The GOP has struggled with the issue at the state and federal levels since the Alabama Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that frozen embryos should be considered people, which caused some fertility clinics in the state to suspend treatments until the legislature passed a bill shielding them from criminal and civil liability nearly two weeks later. Trump and other Republican officials condemned the Alabama ruling and praised the legislative fix that restored access — moves that prominent religious and anti-abortion activists condemned as a betrayal of their cause.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer suggested the vote was intended to highlight those divisions and brand Republicans as hypocrites on the issue at a press conference on the steps of the Capitol.

Since the Alabama ruling, he said, “we’ve seen Republicans tie themselves in knots over their support for IVF, claiming they support access to IVF, support insurance paying for IVF treatments, and support helping families pay for IVF. And then when the rubber hits the road, they vote no.”

Republicans countered in the leadup to Tuesday’s vote that Alabama’s fix makes IVF a non-issue Democrats exploit for political purposes.

“This is an election-year bill,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.). “There’s no state that is endangering IVF. This is the way they create the illusion there is.”

But Democrats warn that without federal protections, any of the nearly dozen other states with fetal personhood laws could move to bar destruction of frozen embryos.

Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Schumer pointed to the many influential groups on the right pushing for more restrictions on IVF, including the Southern Baptist Convention, the Heritage Foundation and former Vice President Mike Pence’s group Advancing American Freedom.

“These are the groups Republicans listen to. These are the groups who set their agenda,” he said, flanked by Democratic colleagues holding pictures of children born via IVF. “If Republicans get their way, the IVF services that so many families depend on are very much at risk.”

Nearly every Senate Republican voted to block the same bill in June, with some arguing it was unnecessary and others claiming it would infringe on religious liberties. Sens. Collins and Murkowski were the only Republicans to vote with Democrats.

The day before that vote, the full GOP conference released a statement stating they “strongly support continued nationwide access to IVF.”

Senate Republicans also shot down a similar attempt from Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to force a vote on her bill to expand access to in vitro fertilization for all veterans in March.