Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a GOP effort to pass a bill providing protections for individuals seeking access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) ahead of a planned vote on a Democratic-led proposal on Thursday.
The GOP bill, led by Sens. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), would prohibit states from gaining access to Medicaid funding if they bar IVF services. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) blocked the unanimous request, arguing that the GOP bill doesn’t go far enough to protect access to IVF.
“I’m not going to mince words. It is ridiculous to claim that this bill protects IVF when it does nothing of the sort,” she said. “In fact, it explicitly allows states to restrict IVF in every way.”
“This Republican bill is really a public relations tool, plain and simple,” she said. “It’s just another way for Republicans to pretend they’re not the extremists they continue to prove they are.”
The request came a day before a vote on the Democratic bill, authored by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.). Republicans widely criticized the vote on the bill as a “show” vote, which follows similar votes on contraception and the border in recent weeks.
“Understand why Democrats just did what they did,” Cruz said. “Every Democrat at the polls will tell voters, ‘If you don’t vote for me, a Democrat, it means the Republicans will come and take away IVF.’ … It involves running TV ads claiming that Republicans oppose in vitro fertilization.
Britt continued in her comments.
“Unfortunately, they’re not interested in a bill to actually protect access to IVF and figuring out how we could get this to become law. That would not advance their true objective, which is partisan electoral politics,” she said. “If Democrats allowed the IVF Protection Act to pass today, they would lose an important scare tactic they believe will help them in November.”
“And that’s what it’s all about, ultimately,” she added.
Very few Senate Republicans are expected to vote for the Democrats’ in vitro fertilization bill next week, just as they did last week on the contraception bill.
Among the items included in the Democratic proposal are a block on states from imposing restrictions on in vitro fertilization and provisions that would expand insurance coverage for military personnel and veterans.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
