Republicans block Dem-backed IVF bill revived by Chuck Schumer

Republicans blocked a Democrat-backed bill on in vitro fertilization (IVF) from proceeding on Tuesday, which has already failed in the upper chamber. 

The bill failed to garner the 60 votes necessary in the procedural vote, failing 51 to 44.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced he was scheduling an additional vote on the measure in a letter to senators on Sunday.

“As our national debate on reproductive rights has continued to unfold, we have seen the Republican Party’s nominee for president claim to be ‘a leader in fertilization’ and come out in support of expanding access to IVF by requiring insurance companies to cover IVF treatment — a key provision included in the Right to IVF Act,” Schumer wrote.

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Leader Schumer revealed a vote on a previously blocked IVF bill will be slated for Tuesday. (Reuters)

“So, we are going to give our Republican colleagues another chance to show the American people where they stand.”

Schumer’s decision to bring the bill back to the Senate floor comes after former President Donald Trump vowed to mandate insurers to cover IVF, as he emphasized his support of the procedure. 

“I’m announcing today in a major statement that under the Trump administration, your government will pay for — or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for — all costs associated with IVF treatment,” Trump said at a Michigan event last month. “Because we want more babies, to put it nicely.”

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Trump declared himself a leader on IVF. (AP/Jae C. Hong)

Under the IVF bill, which was introduced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., “A group health plan or a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall provide coverage for fertility treatment, if such plan or coverage provides coverage for obstetrical services.”

This would extend to nearly all insurers, as obstetrical coverage is considered a routine inclusion. 

In June, nearly all Senate Republicans voted the measure down during a key procedural vote, preventing it from getting the 60 necessary votes to advance. 

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Duckworth led the Democrat-backed IVF bill. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Katie Britt of Alabama proposed their own IVF bill later in the summer, which they said would prevent bans on the procedure but allow for commonsense regulation. That measure was blocked from being voted on when Cruz made a unanimous consent request to proceed with it. It has not been slated for a traditional vote by Schumer, either. 

At the time, Cruz and Britt also led a statement that was signed by the entire Republican conference, reiterating their support of IVF. 

Ahead of the cloture vote on Tuesday, Cruz and Britt once again sought to proceed to a vote on their bill by way of unanimous consent. However, their request was objected to. 

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., also led a bill designed to promote IVF earlier this summer, which was bicameral and introduced in the House by Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla. His measure sought to decouple Health Savings Accounts (HSA) from health insurance plans and raise the contribution limits for families to assist in paying for expenses such as IVF. 

The Florida senator similarly sought to advance his bill to a vote on Monday night, making a request for unanimous consent. This was objected to by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

Scott said he wouldn’t speak about private conversations with Trump when asked by Fox News Digital ahead of the vote if they had discussed the former president’s IVF proposal, but he reiterated, “I’m very supportive of IVF, and we’ll see what Schumer brings up.”

Pressed on the component to mandate insurers to cover the procedure, he said he would see what’s written in the bill. 

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A microscopic view of a cryo solution during embryo prep in the IVF lab at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., who is running for Republican Senate leader in November, said he hadn’t discussed the IVF proposal with Trump but perhaps some of his colleagues had. 

“Obviously, it’s an idea that’s out there that we’re having discussions about. But, we’ll react to it if and when it happens, if that’s the direction Schumer decides to go,” he told Fox News Digital after Schumer announced the scheduled vote. 

Asked about mandating private insurance coverage for a procedure, which isn’t a traditionally conservative position, Thune said, “I guess that’s the conversation we’re going to have to have.”

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“Obviously, it’s something that our nominee has come out in support of, but there are lots of mandates that are imposed on insurance companies, which raise rates,” he explained. 

“Every Republican is for IVF. I don’t know of any Republican that isn’t,” he said. “The question of whether or not insurance ought to cover it is another issue that we need to talk about.”