WASHINGTON — The Senate will vote for the second time this year on whether to consider legislation that would establish a national right to in vitro fertilization — the latest election-year attempt by Democrats to force Republicans into a defensive posture on the issues. of women’s health.
Senators will vote Tuesday on whether to move forward with the legislation, a second test after Republicans already blocked it once earlier this year. The bill has little chance of passing, but Democrats hope to use the vote to put pressure on Republican congressional candidates and set up a showdown between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in the presidential race, especially since Trump has. it was called ” leader in IVF. “
The push began earlier this year The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. Several clinics in the state suspended IVF treatments until the GOP-led legislature stepped in enact a law to provide legal protection for clinics.
Democrats quickly capitalized, holding a vote in June on the congressional bill from Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth and warning that the US Supreme Court could go after the procedure later. announced the right to an abortion in 2022. The legislation would also increase access to the procedure and reduce costs.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor Tuesday morning that the vote is a “second chance” for Republicans.
“Americans are watching, families at home are watching, and couples who want to become parents are watching too,” Schumer said.
All but two Republicans voted to block the Democratic legislation in June, arguing that the federal government shouldn’t tell states what to do and that the bill was a frivolous effort. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted with Democrats to advance the bill.
Meanwhile, Republicans have scrambled to counter Democrats on the issue, with many making it clear they support IVF treatments. Trump last month announced plans, without additional details, to ask health insurance companies or the federal government to pay for fertility treatment.
In his debate with Harris earlier this month, Trump said he was a “leader” on the issue and talked about the “very negative” decision by the Alabama court that was later overturned by the legislature .
But the issue threatened to become a vulnerability for Republicans as some state laws passed by their party conceded. the legal person not only to fetuses, but to any embryos that are destroyed in the IVF process. Before its convention this summer, the Republican Party adopted a political platform which supports states establishing fetal personhood through the 14th amendment to the Constitution, which gives equal protection under the law to all American citizens. The platform also encourages the support of IVF, but does not explain how the party plans to do it.
Democrats say that if Trump wants to improve access to the procedure, then Republicans should vote for his legislation.
Duckworth, a military veteran who has use fertility treatment to have her two children, she led the Senate effort on the legislation. “How dare you,” he said in comments directed at his GOP colleagues after the first vote that blocked the bill.
Republicans have tried to push alternatives to the problem, including legislation that would discourage states from enacting explicit bans on the treatment, but those bills have been blocked by Democrats who say they are not enough.
Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama and Ted Cruz of Texas tried in June to pass a bill that threatened to withhold Medicaid funding for states where IVF is prohibited. Senator Rick Scott, a Republican from Florida, said in a speech on the floor then that his daughter was currently receiving IVF treatment and proposed to expand the flexibility of health savings accounts.
Cruz, who is running for re-election in Texas, said Democrats’ efforts to pass the legislation were a “cynical political decision.”