Democrats block Cruz attempt to pass GOP IVF bill

Democrats on Tuesday blocked an attempt by Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Katie Britt (Ala.) to pass a GOP in vitro fertilization (IVF) access bill through unanimous consent, repeating a similar showdown that occurred earlier this year.

Cruz sought unanimous consent for the IVF Protection Act, which was blocked by Democrats in June at the same time their own IVF access bill, the Right to IVF Act, was blocked by Republicans.

The senator from Texas blasted the vote on the Democrats’ bill Tuesday as a “show vote” as Republicans blocked it once again. He accused Democrats of using the vote to reap material for campaign commercials and damaging headlines.

Cruz called for attention to how Democrats would act on his and Britt’s IVF legislation.

“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 said.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a key sponsor of the Democrats’ Right to IVF Act, objected immediately after Cruz spoke.

“I have been perfectly clear about the glaring issue with this Republican bill,” Murray said. “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 release shortly after she blocked Cruz and Britt’s bill, Murray similarly criticized it as a “show-bill.”

While both bills had similar aims of ensuring IVF access at the federal level, there were some distinct differences. The GOP bill would bar states from receiving Medicaid funding if they implement a ban on IVF but explicitly does not guarantee a right to IVF services.