If you think Donald Trump and the GOP are telling the truth when they claim they their party will protect IVF, think again (emphasis on the word think). Senate Republicans just blocked a bill to federally protect in vitro fertilization.
Only two Republican Senators — Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) — joined with Democrats to support the Right to IVF bill, which would have ensured IVF legality, accessibility and affordability.
During the Trump-Harris presidential debate, Trump claimed to be a "leader on fertilization, IVF." But the only thing he truly leads is his band of spineless lawmakers and MAGA cult followers. So if the Senate is voting against IVF protections, it can only mean one thing: Trump's bro base does not want women to have the right to make choices about their own reproductive health. And thus, Trump does not want women to have the right to make choices about their own reproductive health. It's as simple as that.
Trump already proved his disregard for women's rights by choosing three far-right Justices that helped overturn Roe v. Wade. Now, with only 48 days until Election Day, yesterday's Senate vote proves that Roe v. Wade was just the beginning. IVF protections were blocked today, and next, as Justice Clarence Thomas argued in 2022, it will be contraception.
From Politico:
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.
The 51-44 vote fell far short of the 60-vote threshold Democrats needed to overcome a filibuster. …
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.
Since the Alabama ruling, [Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer] 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."
Previously: Texas Republicans push death penalty for women who get abortions and IVF (video)
