Washington.- Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked a Democratic proposal this election season to advance legislation that would guarantee federal protections and insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization treatments, marking the second time in three months that the GOP has thwarted the highly popular measure.
Democrats orchestrated the failed vote, weeks before the November election, in part by highlighting Republican opposition to abortion rights and the implications for access to other reproductive health services.
They sought to remind voters that the Republican Party remains steadfast against federal protections for in vitro fertilization even after the party’s presidential nominee, former President Donald J. Trump, has called himself the “leader” on the issue and said he supports insurance companies or the federal government covering the treatments.
Trump did not provide specific details about how that might work.
All but two Republicans present — Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, who support abortion rights — voted no, allowing the in vitro fertilization access proposal to move forward, leaving Democrats nine votes shy of the 60 needed to begin debating the issue.
The last time Republicans blocked the legislation was in June, Murkowski and Collins were also the only GOP lawmakers to cross party lines and vote for the measure to move forward.
Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, Trump’s running mate, voted to reject the legislation in June and was absent from the House Tuesday and did not vote.
Polls show that even though a majority of Republican voters support access to in vitro fertilization, Republican lawmakers have been trying to expunge or at times distort their records on policies that could limit reproductive rights.
Democrats on Tuesday cited Trump’s recent attempts to portray himself as a champion of in vitro fertilization and blamed him for jeopardizing access to the treatments by appointing Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
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