Washington City.- Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked a Democratic proposal this election season to advance legislation that would guarantee federal protection and insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization treatments, marking the second time in three months that Republicans have thwarted a widely popular measure.
Democrats orchestrated the vote failure weeks before the November election, highlighting Republican opposition to abortion rights and its impact on access to other reproductive health services.
They are trying to remind voters that Republicans oppose federal coverage for in vitro fertilization even after the party’s presidential nominee, former President Donald J. Trump, was considered a “leader” on the issue and said he supported having insurance companies or federal government insurers cover the treatment.
Trump did not provide specific details about how it would work.
All but two Republicans present — Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, who support abortion rights — voted against allowing the IVF access proposal to move forward, leaving Democrats nine votes short of the 60 needed to approve abortion.
The last time Republicans blocked the legislation in June, Murkowski and Collins were also the only Republican lawmakers to cross party lines and vote to move the measure forward.
Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Trump's running mate, voted against the legislation in June and was absent Tuesday and did not vote.
With polls showing that a majority of Republican voters support access to in vitro fertilization, Republican lawmakers have sought to erase or sometimes misrepresent their record on policies that could limit reproductive rights.
On Tuesday, Democrats cited Trump's recent efforts to portray himself as a supporter of in vitro fertilization and blamed him for jeopardizing access to the treatment by appointing justices to the Supreme Court who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.