(ConservativeSense.com) – Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota blasted her colleagues in the GOP for blocking a bill that would have protected access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) under federal law.
On Thursday, June 13, the Senate voted 48-47 to block new legislation that would’ve codified IVF into federal law. To move forward, the bill would’ve needed 60 votes, meaning nine Republicans would have had to have broken ranks to join the Democrats in supporting it. Only two crossed the aisle to support the bill: Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.
After the vote, Klobuchar appeared on CNN’s “The Source” for an interview. Host Kaitlan Collins asked the Democratic senator what she would like to say to her Republican colleagues in the Senate who claimed to support IVF only to vote against the bill due to the “political grandstanding” of the Democrats.
Klobuchar replied that she would like them to explain their reasoning to two women she met that morning in Minnesota who “have lovely children because of IVF.” She then said that eight million kids in the US are born through IVF and that 1,100 were born in her home state alone in 2023. “These are real families,” Klobuchar added, and she says they look “with horror” at the Senate’s decision.
Speaking directly to her Republican colleagues, Klobuchar said Democrats obviously want to codify IVF into law, but if they want to do it, too, then they can’t “just talk about it.”
The legislative package of four bills, called “The Right to IVF Act,” was sponsored by three Democratic lawmakers: Sens. Tammy Buckworth of Illinois, Patty Murray of Washington, and Cory Booker of New Jersey. The package would have established IVF access as a right nationwide and lower procedure costs.
During a press conference the day before the vote, Booker said IVF access should not be turned into “a left-right issue” and that Americans of both party leanings “overwhelmingly” support it. Republicans on the fence, on the other hand, believe the vote is simply an election year stunt.
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