Two Senate bills from different sides of the aisle that aimed to protect access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) were rejected this week amid bipartisan wrangling.
The Right to IVF Act – sponsored by Democratic Senators Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Patty Murray (Wash.), and Cory Booker (NJ) – and the IVF Protection Act – sponsored by Republican Senators Katie Britt (Ala.) and Ted Cruz (Texas) – were shot down this week along party lines.
Democrats blocked a unanimous request from Republicans on Wednesday, arguing that the GOP bill did not go far enough to guarantee access to in vitro fertilization. Murray called the legislation “a public relations tool, pure and simple.”
“If Democrats allowed the IVF Protection Act to pass today, they would lose an important scare tactic they believe will help them in November,” Britt said after the vote.
Republicans returned the favor on Thursday, blocking the Democrats’ bill from advancing. GOP senators criticized the vote as an election-year stunt and raised concerns about unfunded mandates as well as the potential impact on religious freedom.
President Biden criticized the vote, saying in a statement Thursday: “Once again, Senate Republicans have refused to protect access to fertility treatments for women desperately trying to get pregnant.”
Although these bills were drafted with the same intentions on the surface, there are important differences.
The Republican IVF Protection Act would prevent states from receiving Medicaid funding if they implement a ban on IVF. Democrats argue that this bill encourages far-right Republican lawmakers to defund Medicaid and ban IVF at the same time.
It also does not explicitly guarantee the right to IVF services.
“Nothing in the IVF Protection Act shall be construed to oblige any individual or organization to provide IVF services,” the legislation says.
While the bill calls on states not to pass IVF bans, it would not prevent courts from restricting access to the service. It would also have allowed restrictions on how embryos are stored, implanted and disposed of.
The Democrats’ version is more comprehensive, being a collection of four bills that would establish a national right to in vitro fertilization services and other assisted reproductive technologies.
The bill would establish a patient’s right to receive fertility treatment from a health care provider; continue or complete ongoing fertility treatment previously initiated by a healthcare provider; make decisions about what happens to reproductive genetic material; and establish contracts regarding the handling, testing, storage, shipping and disposal of genetic material by a supplier.
Fertility treatments and counseling would be added to Title 38 of the U.S. Code, which outlines Veterans Benefits. State Medicaid plans would also be required to provide assistance for fertility treatments.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
