Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said that Democrats “use” in vitro fertilization (IVF) accessibility concerns “as a scare tactic” in an interview Sunday.
“Senator Ted Cruz and I led a letter with all 49 Republican senators signing on saying they strongly support nationwide access to IVF,” Britt told “Fox News Sunday” anchor Shannon Bream. “And the truth is, Democrats continue to use this issue as a scare tactic, because IVF is legal and accessible in all 50 states. And President Trump has made it perfectly clear that he’ll continue to make sure that that’s the case.”
Trump said late last month that his administration would protect IVF accessibility and have either the government or insurance companies pay for the treatment if he gets back into the White House.
“We are going to be — under the Trump administration, we are going to be paying for that treatment,” Trump said in an NBC News interview, also adding that being applicable to “all Americans who get it; all Americans who need it.”
Harris’ campaign criticized the promise by the former president to pay for IVF, previously stating it was “one of his most brazen lies yet.”
“Donald Trump’s own platform could effectively ban IVF and abortion nationwide. Trump lies as much if not more than he breathes, but voters aren’t stupid. Because Trump overturned Roe v. Wade, IVF is already under attack and women’s freedoms have been ripped away in states across the country,” Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a past statement.
Fears about IVF accessibility gained prominence in the last year, especially in the wake of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos, as well as fertilized eggs, are considered people under the law and that those who destroy them can be held liable for death. However, lawmakers speedily pushed through legislation on civil and criminal liability for IVF providers, allowing IVF services, many of which had been halted, to resume.
“So you voted against a measure, though, that was offered up by Democrats on IVF in the Senate there,” Bream said during Britt’s “Fox News Sunday” appearance. “And they continue to point to that to say Republicans aren’t supportive of protecting IVF. Why did you vote no?”
Britt responded by stating that “instead of putting” legislation including “funding bills on the floor” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) “chose to put an IVF bill on the floor for a show vote.”
“That bill extended into human cloning,” Britt added.
The Hill has reached out to the Democratic National Committee and Schumer’s office.