Duckworth, Schumer, Murray, Booker Slam Republican Hypocrisy After Senate GOP Again Blocks Their Bill to Protect IVF and Lower Costs for Families, Despite Republicans’ Claims[...]

September 17, 2024

Duckworth, Schumer, Murray, Booker Slam Republican Hypocrisy After Senate GOP Again Blocks Their Bill to Protect IVF and Lower Costs for Families, Despite Republicans' Claims of IVF Support

This is the second time Senate Republicans, who claim to be "pro-IVF," blocked the Right to IVF Act

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) called out Senate Republicans' hypocrisy after nearly every single Republican blocked the Senate Democrats' Right to IVF Act-now the second time they've done so after first blocking the bill in June-despite them publicly claiming to support IVF for the millions of Americans who rely on it to build their families. This was Senate Republicans' second chance to pass this pro-family, pro-freedom legislative package that would both establish a right to IVF and other assisted reproductive technology (ART), expand access for hopeful parents, Veterans and federal employees, as well as lower the costs of IVF for middle class families across the country. In June, Duckworth slammed Senate Republicans for blocking her previous legislation to protect IVF access after the Alabama Supreme Court ruling shut down state clinics and painted IVF parents and their doctors as criminals. After doing the same thing today, the Senate GOP once again proved that their public "support for IVF" is nothing but a ruse to mislead voters-which Senator Duckworth highlighted in her floor remarks today.

"Today's vote was Senate Republicans' chance to put their vote where their mouths are-but instead, their true policy beliefs, hypocrisy and misogyny showed through," said Senator Duckworth. "By blocking my Right to IVF Act for the second time in just a few months, Republicans proved that when the rubber meets the road they will do anything to get out of actually passing legislation that would protect women's right to access reproductive care. On behalf of every woman who has faced the heart-shattering struggle of infertility, all I can say to my Republican colleagues is: Shame on you."

"Republicans cannot claim to care about supporting families while voting against protections for IVF, but for the second time this year, they did just that," said Leader Schumer. "Instead of standing with families struggling with infertility, they stood with Project 2025, showing once again just how strong a chokehold this extreme agenda has on Senate Republicans. Senate Democrats will not stop fighting to protect reproductive rights and access to IVF."

"Trump doesn't get credit for opposing a problem that he caused in the first place, especially when his party-the party he leads-won't let us solve it," said Senator Murray. "The entire country just saw, plain as day, that Donald Trump is lying again and that nothing has changed for Republicans since they overturned Roe v. Wade. Nothing has changed for Republicans despite Trump's imaginary leadership on IVF. But Democrats are not going to stop pushing and I have a message for my Republican colleagues who think they can talk about this issue, make big promises to desperate families-like Trump's promise to cover IVF treatment-and then fail to follow through: that promise may just be an empty soundbite to Donald Trump, but it is so personal to families, and those families have been listening to your words, they saw how you voted today, and they will not forget it."

"For a second time this summer, Senate Republicans voted to deny American families the fundamental right to make their own decisions about starting a family," said Senator Booker. "I am disappointed to see the Right to IVF Act fail today and am disappointed that the majority of Senate Republicans voted against a legislative package to protect IVF despite publicly claiming over and over again that they support IVF. Democrats will continue fighting for all Americans' reproductive freedom and advocate for comprehensive reproductive health care that is affordable, accessible, and safe. The American people deserve that."

Ahead of today's vote on their Right to IVF Act, Senators Duckworth, Schumer, Murray and Booker joined Senate Democrats for a press conference to underscore the urgent need to pass the Right to IVF Act as Republicans continue their anti-choice, anti-science crusade. Earlier this year, Senators Duckworth and Murray released the following fact sheet that outlines the very real and growing threat Republican lawmakers in Congress and across the country are posing to IVF and other ART.

Building on the lawmakers' previous efforts to protect and strengthen access to IVF, the Right to IVF Act includes updated and enhanced versions of:

• Senator Duckworth's Access to Family Building Act, which would establish a nationwide right for patients to access IVF and other ART services, a right for doctors to provide IVF treatment in accordance with medical standards as well as a right for insurance carriers to cover IVF without prohibition, limitation, interference or impediment. By establishing a statutory right, this would pre-empt any state effort to limit such access and ensuring no hopeful parent-or their doctors-are punished for trying to start or grow a family.
• • In February, Senator Duckworth sought unanimous consent to pass this legislation. Republican U.S. Senator of Mississippi Cindy Hyde-Smith blocked it.

• Senator Murray's Veteran Families Health Services Act, which would expand the fertility treatments and family-building services that are covered under servicemembers' and Veterans' health care to include-among other things-the option for individuals to cryopreserve their gametes (freeze their eggs or sperm) ahead of deployment to a combat zone and in vitro fertilization (IVF) for servicemembers and veterans who are unable to conceive without assistance.
• • In March, Senator Murray sought unanimous consent to pass this legislation. Republican U.S. Senator of Oklahoma James Lankford blocked it.

• Senator Booker's Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act, which would increase affordability of fertility care-including IVF-by requiring employer-sponsored insurance plans and other public insurance plans to cover fertility treatments. Additionally, it would standardize a baseline of high-quality fertility treatment coverage under private health insurance plans, while protecting Americans against excessive out-of-pocket costs.

• Senator Duckworth's Family Building FEHB Fairness Act, which would require Federal Employees Health Benefit (FEHB) Program-the largest employer-sponsored health insurance plan in the world-carriers to cover IVF and ART to help more hardworking Americans start and grow their families.

Throughout her time in the Senate, Duckworth has made protecting reproductive freedom and expanding access to IVF top priorities in the face of Republicans' anti-choice crusade. When Senator Hyde-Smith blocked Senator Duckworth's Access to Family Building Actfrom passing through unanimous consent, this was the second time Senate Republicans blocked Duckworth-led legislation that would protect access to IVF nationwide. The Access to Family Building Act builds on previous legislation she introduced in 2022.

Meanwhile, while Senate Democrats continue their efforts to protect IVF and reproductive freedom, Senate Republicans continue to make it clear that they want to further undermine access to basic healthcare for millions of Americans. Duckworth condemned the so-called "IVF Protection" bill led by U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Katie Britt (R-AL) that wouldn't do anything to protect IVF, but actually incentivize state legislatures to both ban IVF and defund Medicaid at the same time-unpopular, extreme policies that far-right Republican policymakers have sought to do for decades.

Duckworth was the first Senator to give birth while serving in office and had both of her children with the help of IVF. In 2018, she advocated for the Senate to change its rules so she could bring her infant onto the Senate floor.

-30-

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.