Scoop: House Dems try to amplify GOP's IVF turmoil
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Rep. Susan Wild speaks at a Capitol Hill press conference for World IVF Day on July 25, 2024. Photo: Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images.
House Democrats are ramping up public pressure on their Republican colleagues to prove that their professed support for access to fertility services is more than just talk, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Former President Trump has spurred a wave of Democratic efforts to expose GOP divisions on IVF with his proposal to make fertility treatments free and by calling himself a "leader" on the issue.
Driving the news: Reps. Susan Wild (D-Va.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) on Tuesday are introducing the Right to IVF Act, a package of four bills to expand IVF access.
- The legislation would establish a statutory right to IVF, expand access for service members and require insurers to cover fertility treatments — all of which mirrors Trump's own proposals.
- "I invite my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to match their words with actions and cosponsor this common-sense, pro-family legislation," Wild said in a statement.
- Said DeLauro: "Given the widespread public support for IVF, there should be no delay in passing this pro-family legislation right now."
Between the lines: The bill is unlikely to get a vote in the GOP-controlled House, but it further highlights Republicans' struggle to craft a cohesive message on the issue ahead of Nov. 5.
- Some House Republicans have privately been pushing their leadership to hold a vote on one of several Republican-led pro-IVF bills, but to no avail.
- "Several have suggested [a vote,] and we haven't gotten agreement ... yet," one GOP lawmaker involved in the discussions told Axios.
- A handful of right-wing Republicans have gone on record opposing IVF access, which Democrats have gleefully seized on as evidence that the party is trying to have it both ways on the issue.
Zoom in: Wild has launched a discharge petition on her bill to create a statutory right to IVF, the Access to Family Building Act, which has four Republican co-sponsors.
- The petition, however, had been signed by 189 Democrats as of Monday — but no Republicans.
State of play: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is planning to hold a Senate vote on the legislation this week.
- The Senate previously voted on the measure in June, but it was blocked by all but two of the chamber's Republicans, Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine).
- Republicans are expected to once again block the legislation this week, Axios' Stephen Neukam reported.
