Senate Republicans block bill on women’s right to IVF as Democrats make push on reproductive care

^{Photo by Ajay Parthasarathy on Unsplash}

Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would make it a right nationwide for women to access in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer forced a vote on the matter Thursday in an effort to drive an election-year contrast on reproductive care.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a military veteran who has used the fertility treatment to have her two children, has 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, D-Ill., said following 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. Instead, GOP senators offered their own, alternative legislation...