Democrats on Tuesday blocked an try by Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Katie Britt (Ala.) to go a GOP in vitro fertilization (IVF) entry invoice by way of unanimous consent, repeating an identical showdown that occurred earlier this yr.
Cruz sought unanimous consent for the IVF Safety Act, which was blocked by Democrats in June on the identical time their very own IVF entry invoice, the Proper to IVF Act, was blocked by Republicans.
The senator from Texas blasted the vote on the Democrats’ invoice Tuesday as a “show vote” as Republicans blocked it as soon as once more. He accused Democrats of utilizing the vote to reap materials for marketing campaign commercials and damaging headlines.
Cruz referred to as for consideration to how Democrats would act on his and Britt’s IVF laws.
“If you hear the words ‘I object’ from Senate Democrats, then you will understand the only reason that IVF is not protected with strong, ironclad protection in federal statute is because Senate Democrats cynically object to protecting IVF,” Cruz mentioned.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a key sponsor of the Democrats’ Proper to IVF Act, objected instantly after Cruz spoke.
“I have been perfectly clear about the glaring issue with this Republican bill,” Murray mentioned. “The cold, hard reality is this Republican bill does nothing to meaningfully protect IVF from the biggest threats from lawmakers and anti-abortion extremists all over this country. It would still allow states to regulate IVF out of existence. And this bill is silent on fetal personhood, which is the biggest threat to IVF.”
In a press launch shortly after she blocked Cruz and Britt’s invoice, Murray equally criticized it as a “show-bill.”
Whereas each payments had comparable goals of making certain IVF entry on the federal stage, there have been some distinct variations. The GOP invoice would bar states from receiving Medicaid funding in the event that they implement a ban on IVF however explicitly doesn’t assure a proper to IVF companies.
