WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would have made it a right nationwide for women to access in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., forced a vote on the matter Thursday in an effort to drive an election-year contrast on reproductive care.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a military veteran who used the fertility treatment to have her two children, championed the bill, called the Right to IVF Act.
The bill would have also expanded access through insurance as well as for military members and veterans. "As a mom who struggled with infertility for years, as a parent who needed IVF to have my two beautiful little girls, all I can say to my Republican colleagues in this moment is, 'How dare you,'" Duckworth said after the vote. All Republicans except Sens.
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine voted against advancing the measure, ensuring that it only gained 48 votes — well short of the 60 votes needed. The overtly political back and-forth showed how quickly Congress shifted into a campaign mindset five months out from the fall election. Get local news delivered to your inbox!.
