Vance and Senate Republicans Had A Chance to Protect IVF – They Blocked the Bill
August 30, 2024
![](https://democrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/War-Room-Master-Image.png)
As Donald Trump, JD Vance, and MAGA Republicans continue to lie about their extreme, anti-choice record, including threatening the freedom to access IVF, DNC National Press Secretary Emilia Rowland released the following statement:
“No matter what insulting lies Donald Trump, JD Vance, and their MAGA minions in the Senate spew to the American people, they will never be able to hide from their long, shameful records of attacking Americans’ reproductive freedom, including threatening the right to start a family through IVF. Senate Republicans, including JD Vance, had the chance to protect Americans’ right to access IVF in June — and all but two of them refused and instead voted to block the Right to IVF Act. Let’s be clear: Americans know the difference between words and actions — and aren’t falling for Trump, Vance, and Senate Republicans’ insulting lies about where they stand on IVF. They’ll pay for it at the ballot box this November.”
All but two GOP senators who were present voted to block Democrats’ efforts to enshrine access to IVF into law, including Trump’s handpicked running mate JD Vance.
Associated Press: “Senate Republicans block bill on women’s right to IVF as Democrats make push on reproductive care”
“Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would make it a right nationwide for women to access in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer forced a vote on the matter Thursday in an effort to drive an election-year contrast on reproductive care.”
“All Republicans except Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine voted against advancing the measure, ensuring that it only gained 48 votes — well short of the 60 votes needed.”
The Hill: “Senate Republicans block legislation to codify IVF access”
Republicans who voted against include: JD Vance.
Vanity Fair: “On Wednesday, Senate Republicans are expected to object to Tammy Duckworth’s Right to Build Families Act, because, surprise: They don’t actually care about families and aren’t ‘pro-life.’
“‘It’s idiotic for us to take the bait,’ Senator JD Vance told Politico, as though the measure were some kind of political trap. (He also noted that he had not actually read the bill yet.)”
American women know better than to believe Donald Trump, JD Vance, and Senate Republicans’ lies and false promises on IVF.
HuffPost: “‘Women Are Not Stupid’: Democrats Scoff At Trump’s Pledge To Cover IVF Costs”
“‘American women are not stupid,’ Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Friday on a press call organized by Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, calling his proposal ‘smoke and mirrors.’
“‘Making vague promises about insurance coverage does not stop a single extremist judge or state legislature from banning IVF,’ she added, advocating for federal legislation protecting access to the treatment.”
Sen. Tina Smith: “Women see Trump’s attempt to modulate his radical position on reproductive rights for what it is: a total lie […]“You can’t support ‘fetal personhood’ while giving a wink to supporting IVF. Trump overturned Roe. And that’s why we are here.”
Thanks to his role in overturning Roe v. Wade, Trump has paved the way for his GOP cronies in red states to threaten IVF access.
Nature: “Is IVF at risk in the US? Scientists fear for the fertility treatment’s future”
New York Times: “[The Alabama Supreme Court ruling on IVF was] made possible by the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in its 2022 Dobbs decision, which was a result of Mr. Trump’s appointment of three justices.”
Texas Public Radio: “‘We don’t know where we stand’: IVF in Texas is on shaky ground”
MSNBC: “Opinion: Alabama’s embryos ruling is a terrifying preview of another Trump presidency”
“Last week, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos frozen in in vitro fertilization procedures are ‘children’ under state law, and that a person responsible for their destruction can be held liable. The opinion is a staggering attack on every facet of reproductive health, including the freedom of people experiencing infertility who use assisted reproductive technologies. It represents the culmination of a movement to enshrine into law the unscientific and purely religious claim that life begins when a sperm fertilizes an egg, supplanting secular laws with supposedly ‘biblical’ beliefs.
“This theocratic dystopia is not an outlier, confined to a single state, but rather a roadmap should Donald Trump return to the White House.”
Washington Post: “Texas high court declines to decide if embryos are people or property”
CNN: “How the reversal of Roe v. Wade led to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children”
Vox: “The Alabama Supreme Court opinion holding that embryos are children, explained”
“More broadly, the story of reproductive freedom in post-Roe America has been a story of uncertainty.
“After Roe was struck down, a raft of criminal abortion prohibitions suddenly sprung to life in many red states. Many of these prohibitions have never been construed by any court, and some health providers have been reluctant to perform even lifesaving abortions that are protected by state law — because they have no way of knowing if the state courts will honor that protection.
“In Alabama, that uncertainty now extends to medical facilities that provide IVF care.”