(UnitedVoice.com) – There’s a battle on Capitol Hill over in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Republicans and Democrats are trying to score points with the American people before the November election, but that has led to a deadlock in which nothing is getting done.
Democrats Block Republican Bill
In May, Senators Katie Britt (R-AL) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced a bill to protect IVF. The legislation sought to cut off Medicaid funding for states that prohibit the procedure that leads to thousands of pregnancies each year. It would also allow states to pass regulations related to the procedure.
The Conservatives introduced the legislation in the months after the Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling that granted fetal personhood to fertilized eggs and allowed lawsuits to move forward against an IVF clinic after embryos were accidentally destroyed.
Britt said that she is a mother who knows “there is no greater blessing than our children” and wanted to ensure other families were about to “experience the joyous miracle of life, grow, and thrive.”
On Wednesday, June 12, Democrats blocked the Republican bill from advancing in the Senate. Lawmakers on the Left argued the GOP bill didn’t offer any protections for the medical procedure. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) said the legislation would still allow states to enact regulations on IVF that could result in “legal uncertainty and risk” for clinics across the country. The lawmaker specifically mentioned the need to pass regulations allowing clinics to dispose of unused embryos if that’s what the parents want to do.
Republicans Block Democratic Bill
On Thursday, the Senate once again took up the issue of IVF. Once again, lawmakers blocked legislation dealing with the procedure. The Democratic bill would have codified the right to access fertility treatments. It would have also given Americans the right to decide how to dispose of, use, or store the embryos created through the procedure.
Lawmakers needed 60 votes to advance the bill, but only 48 senators gave it the green light. All but two Republicans voted against the legislation. President Joe Biden issued a statement attacking GOP senators for not voting to move the bill forward, saying it was “outrageous and unacceptable.”
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy (LA) slammed the Democratic Party for voting on the bill, saying it was “disingenuous.” He said the bill was “destined to fail.”
Both of the votes came after the Southern Baptist Convention voted to condemn the use of IVF treatments. They don’t support the procedure because they believe embryos are people.
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