US Republicans block bill protecting access to IVF [Video]

Republicans in the US Senate on Thursday blocked a bill recognizing a legal right to in vitro fertilization, introduced as part of a Democratic drive to underline threats to reproductive freedoms ahead of November’s elections.

The legislation would have established a federal right to IVF — an infertility treatment combining an egg with sperm in a lab — and for providers to offer the procedure, with expanded insurance coverage to lower costs.

The vast majority of Americans tell pollsters IVF is morally acceptable, but the country is divided over the destruction of frozen human embryos created by the procedure.

The bill needed the support of 60 senators in a preliminary vote to get debate started but could only garner backing from 48, with just two Republicans crossing the aisle.

“All this bill does is establish a nationwide right to IVF and eliminates barriers for millions of Americans who seek IVF …