Alabama’s junior U.S. senator accused Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of political posturing ahead of the November election after Schumer said he will again bring up for a vote the bill granting nationwide protections for in vitro fertilization procedures.
Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., claimed Schumer is engaging in political theater, pointing out that IVF “is legal and available in every single state.”
Republicans blocked the Democrat-led bill in June, which was inspired by the Alabama Supreme Court decision finding that frozen embryos have the same rights as children. The ruling led several IVF providers in Alabama to cut services amid fear of lawsuits before the state Legislature shielded the clinics from legal liability.
Britt and Ted Cruz, her Republican colleague from Texas, authored their own version of an IVF bill that was also blocked by Democrats in June.
“Senator Schumer’s summer of scare tactics is now the fall of fear-mongering. Every Senate Republican strongly supports continued nationwide access to IVF, which is legal and available in every single state,” Britt tweeted Thursday. “@SenTedCruz‘s and my IVF Protection Act safeguards this continued nationwide access without undermining religious freedom. This is the bill that would be on the floor next week if Senator Schumer was serious about a pro-family solution rather than partisan ploys.”
The Britt-Cruz bill would not force providers or organizations to offer IVF, but states would not receive federal Medicaid dollars if they ban the procedure.
Schumer said the Alabama Supreme Court ruling “jeopardized access to IVF within their state, causing millions of women and couples to fear that even their freedom to start a family was not in danger.
“Over the past few months we’ve seen how IVF has become the far right’s next target,” the Democratic leader said on the Senate floor Thursday in announcing he would bring the Democratic bill up for a vote next week.
“Almost every single Senate Republican voted against this vital legislation.” he said.
Only two pro-choice Republican Senators — Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — sided with Democrats.
“Republicans can’t claim to be pro-family only to block protections for IVF,” Schumer said.
The Democratic package — a series of four bills — includes a national right to IVF and other fertility treatments and mandates insurance plans to cover the procedures.
