Senator Kaine expresses disappointment as IVF legislation fails in Senate for second time
LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — A bill protecting access to in-vitro fertilization, or IVF, failed in the U.S. Senate for a second time this week. Only two Republicans voted in favor.
Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) co-sponsored the legislation and said he's disappointed his colleagues in the Senate blocked the legislation for a second time.
I'm a little bit at a loss as to why Republicans oppose it. It's had the strong support of Senators Collins and Murkowski, strong Republicans, but they support it," Kaine said.
He said Senate Democrats brought it back up for a second vote after former President Donald Trump voiced his support for IVF. Kaine noted they had two Republicans on their side already, but hoped the former president's opinion could sway more Republicans to back the legislation.
"In the last few weeks, Donald Trump has said that he's a strong supporter of IVF and has talked about wanting to make sure that insurance will cover IVF. We thought him sending a green light of support for IVF might persuade some additional Republicans to vote to at least proceed to the bill," Kaine said.
ABC13 asked him if there was any room in the future to work across the aisle.
The bill is a simple bill... all it states is that a person shall have right to access IVF or other assisted reproductive technologies and that a provider should have right to provide... It doesn't mandate that every provider provide IVF services, it just protects the right of a provider who wants to, whether that be an individual physician or a hospital, protects the right to do so. So, it's kind of like, what would you compromise in there? It's such a basic proposition," he said.
Kaine said moving forward, it's important to keep trying to get the bill passed.
"We have to keep trying because this is something that really matters to the American public," Kaine said."This is overwhelmingly popular with Americans of all political parties and none. We all know people who have utilized IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies to start a family. This is a pro-family bill and it shouldn't be hard for people to vote 'Yes' on it."