Seeking to spotlight Republican resistance, Senate Democrats renew push for IVF rights

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats are making a renewed push to show their support for ensuring nationwide access to in vitro fertilization, releasing legislation Thursday that is part of an election-year effort to spotlight Republican resistance to protecting reproductive care.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who has used fertility treatment to have her two children, introduced a bill called the Right to IVF ACT, which would also make it more accessible through insurance as well as for military members and veterans. Although a pair of Senate Republicans have advanced their own proposal that would discourage states from banning IVF treatment, neither bill is expected to gain the significant bipartisan support that would be necessary to pass Congress.

Instead, Democrats are trying this month to show how Republicans are mostly unwilling to support legislation creating federal protections for reproductive care. It's a similar strategy that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, used in the run-up to the 2022 election after the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to abortion.

“This will be one of the most important issues in the presidential campaign, and make no mistake about it, Joe Biden is fully for women’s reproductive rights. Donald Trump has opposed them time and time again,” Schumer said at an event in his home state last week.