Senate revives fertility treatment bill for vets

The Senate on Thursday took a major step forward in expanding access to fertility treatments to wounded veterans, nearly a year after a fight over Planned Parenthood derailed the measure.

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 23 to 7 on an amendment to allow service members to have in vitro fertilization treatments covered by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Nine Republicans supported the measure, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.).

The seven Republicans who opposed the measure include the chairman of the Senate health commitee, Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), and former member of the Air Force reserves Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.).

The amendment was included in Congress’s annual spending for veterans and military construction, typically the first leg of the appropriations process. The bill is led by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), in an effort to lift a decades-old ban that some veterans say has stripped them of access to the costly treatment.

The appropriations bill now heads to the Senate floor, where Democrats hope to avoid the battle over Planned Parenthood that trapped the bill last July.

Supporters of the bill are also hoping to avoid a religious fight over in vitro fertilization, which is opposed by the Catholic church. 

Murray was forced to pull her bill last summer after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) added amendments targeting Planned Parenthood in the wake of undercover videos accusing the group of wrongdoing.

Tillis said he opposed Murray’s effort because it diverted attention from existing problems within the VA.