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momsrising
Senate GOP Blocks IVF Bill, Showing How Extreme 'Whole Party Is'
"This is the third time they've blocked legislation to protect IVF nationwide," said the sponsor, Sen. Tammy Duckworth. "This is who Republicans are."
Jun 13, 2024
After blocking a vote on the Right to Contraception Act last week, U.S. Senate Republicans on Thursday similarly prevented the chamber from weighing in on "a bill to protect and expand nationwide access to fertility treatment, including in vitro fertilization."
Only Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined with Democrats for the 48-47 procedural vote on Sen. Tammy Duckworth's (D-Ill.) Right to IVF Act, which needed three-fifths majority support to hold a final vote in the chamber.
"IVF access has helped countless American families to form and grow. This bill would have protected their access to this healthcare and all the hope it represents amidst active MAGA threats to ban IVF," Indivisible said on social media Thursday. "Following this vote on the Right to IVF Act, all those people now know exactly where their senators stand."
"This is the kind of thing Democrats need to do more of. Go on offense. Force Republicans on the record. Don't let them say one thing and do another," the group asserted just months away from the November general election. "Republicans have waffled on this for months. When finally forced to take action, the GOP was too chicken."
Indivisible emphasized that "this legislation contains basic, popular things that actually enjoy wide support among Democratic and Republican voters alike. It would have been safe and frankly smart for most of the GOP to vote for it. But this shows how loyal to anti-choice extremists the whole party is."
"This amounts to a total refusal to protect our access to reproductive healthcare. It is truly indefensible."
Senate Majority Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)—who changed his vote to "no" so he can bring the bill up again—said on the chamber's floor Thursday that "it is a contradiction to claim you are pro-family but then turn around and block protections for IVF."
"In a perfect world a bill like this would not be necessary," Schumer argued, "but after the fiasco of the Alabama Supreme Court decision, and the generally MAGA views of some on the [U.S.] Supreme Court, Americans are genuinely worried that IVF is the next target of anti-choice extremists."
The Alabama Supreme Court in February delivered what critics called a "radically theocratic" decision, recognizing frozen embryos as children. IVF clinics swiftly stopped operating in the state and fears about the future of fertility treatments mounted nationwide.
Alabama state legislators swiftly worked to pass new IVF protections, but the Mobile Infirmary Health and the Center for Reproductive Medicine said in March that "the law falls short of addressing the fertilized eggs currently stored across the state and leaves challenges for physicians and fertility clinics trying to help deserving families have children of their own."
Since then, many GOP political figures across the country have claimed to support such in vitro fertilization—including the 49 Senate Republicans who signed a Wednesday statement led by Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), who also pushed a competing IVF bill. However, Democratic leaders and reproductive rights advocates warn that like abortion and birth control, fertility care remains at risk of being restricted by right-wingers unless Congress passes legislation to protect it.
"Republicans talk a big game. But they will vote to block protections for IVF, just like they did for contraception," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said before the vote. "Talk is cheap. Only Democrats are fighting to protect abortion, contraception, and IVF."
Duckworth—who led the bill alongside Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.)—declared: "This is the third time they've blocked legislation to protect IVF nationwide. This is who Republicans are."
Campaigners were similarly critical on Thursday. Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director and CEO of MomsRising, said in a statement that "it is shameful, and it is harmful that U.S. Senate Republicans today refused to take the simple, necessary step of passing a wildly popular bill to protect access to in vitro fertilization."
"Together with Republicans' refusal to enshrine our right to contraception into federal law and to codify Roe v. Wade, this amounts to a total refusal to protect our access to reproductive healthcare. It is truly indefensible," Rowe-Finkbeiner continued. "The need for a federal law is indisputable in the wake of the appalling actions by Alabama legislators who have still not clarified that embryos are not people with the same rights as children, and legislative proposals that threaten IVF access in other states."
After listing the Right to IVF Act's provisions and noting the thousands of babies born thanks to such care, she concluded that "no family should ever have to fear that access to IVF will be denied or that they will be prosecuted for using it. But Republicans in the U.S. Senate today refused to offer that simple protection. Moms will not forget this vote."
In addition to deciding which party will control each chamber of Congress, U.S. voters in November are set to choose between Democratic President Joe Biden and former Republican President Donald Trump, who has bragged about appointing half of the U.S. Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade.
"I have long said that overturning Roe v. Wade was just the beginning of a full-on attack on fundamental freedoms, and this is the latest indication that extremists plan to go much further," Vice President Kamala Harris said in a campaign statement about the Senate vote on Thursday.
"Unlike Donald Trump, President Biden and I believe a politician should never come between a woman and her doctor—whether that be for abortion care, contraception, or treatment like IVF," she added. "In November, Americans have a chance to stand up for reproductive freedom of all forms by rejecting Donald Trump and his extremist allies."
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'End This Absurdity': Sanders, Gillibrand, and DeLauro Unveil Bills to Guarantee Paid Leave
"It is a total disgrace that millions of workers are having to choose between their job and caring for their family, their newborn child, or themselves when they are sick and in need of care," said Sen. Bernie Sanders.
May 17, 2023
Mothers along with leaders from nursing and railway unions joined U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro as well as Sens. Bernie Sanders and Kirsten Gillibrand on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning to introduce two bills that would guarantee paid leave nationwide.
DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Sanders (I-Vt.) are leading the Healthy Families Act (HFA), which would enable everyone working for businesses with 15 or more employees to earn up to seven paid sick days per year to "recover from their own illnesses, access preventive care, provide care to a sick family member, or attend school meetings related to a child's health condition or disability."
A fact sheet from Sanders' office highlights that "34 million American workers in the U.S. lack paid sick time entirely, including 25% of the private sector workforce and 9% of the public sector workforce," and such policies are "particularly inaccessible" for low-wage workers.
"It is time to end this absurdity," declared Sanders, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). "It is time for the United States to join nearly every other major country in the world and finally guarantee paid sick leave."
"In the richest country in the history of the world, it is a total disgrace that millions of workers are having to choose between their job and caring for their family, their newborn child, or themselves when they are sick and in need of care," he asserted. "It is time Congress passed this legislation to ensure workers receive the basic dignity and benefits that they deserve."
\u201cLIVE: It is long overdue for the United States to join virtually every other major country on Earth in guaranteeing paid leave to all its workers. https://t.co/f83l4hYm7J\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1684332123
DeLauro and Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) also unveiled an updated version of the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which would ensure that all workers in the United States have access to paid leave for serious medical events. The legislation would provide up to 12 weeks of partial income annually and ensure those with the lowest pay earn up to 85% of their normal wages.
The FAMILY Act would also ensure workers who have been at their job for over 90 days have the right to be reinstated after their leave, allow states to continue administering existing programs, and establish a new Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave. As DeLauro noted, she and Gillibrand have been fighting for versions of their bill for the past decade.
"Thirty years ago, we broke ground by enshrining the Family and Medical Leave Act into law, providing unpaid family and medical leave for working Americans," she said. "Let's break ground again by making it paid. Since 2013, I have been proud to be joined by Sen. Gillibrand in introducing the FAMILY Act, which would establish the nation's first universal, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program. This year, the fight continues, as we reintroduce a strengthened FAMILY Act to meet families where they are now and ensure no one has to make the impossible choice between their job and the health of themselves or their loved ones."
The proposals are backed by dozens of advocacy organizations and unions, with several groups and activists demanding swift passage of both bills—though the odds are unlikely, with slim Democratic control of the Senate and the House's GOP majority.
\u201cHere with the most beautiful crowd for #PaidLeaveForAll\u2014nurses, railroad workers, parents, Teamsters, advocates, Congressional leadership. @SharitaGruberg of @NPWF kicks off.\u201d— Paid Leave for All (@Paid Leave for All) 1684332673
"I had my first child, I was a public school teacher, and I had to drain all my sick time to try to maintain some income during my unpaid maternity leave," said Rachel Shelton, a MomsRising member from Asheville, North Carolina, in a statement.
"That was a huge challenge, because babies get sick!" Shelton explained. "When I had my second, I made the tough decision to leave my job because the situation was unsustainable. It shouldn't be this hard to balance caregiving and work. We need Congress to pass the FAMILY Act and Healthy Families Act, now. It's past time we guarantee all working people the paid leave and paid sick days we need to care for our families and for ourselves."
National Nurses United also supports both bills. The organization's president, Jean Ross, said that "nurses want what is best for patients, and that's why our union supports paid sick and family leave for all workers. Nurses see the negative health consequences on patients when they are unable to take leave due to their own illness, or the need to care for family."
"Nobody should have to choose between their own health or the health of their loved ones, and their livelihood," Ross stressed. "Further, nursing is a majority female profession, and paid sick and family leave is essential to ensuring that nursing becomes a sustainable profession."
\u201cIt's a great day for a rally for not one but TWO pieces of legislation that support families and #paidleave: FAMILY Act & Healthy Families Act!\n\nSpecial thanks to @PaidLeaveforAll and our allies.\u201d— Family Values @ Work Action (@Family Values @ Work Action) 1684335871
The introductions—which also featured remarks from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.)—come after a year of railway workers, backed by key congressional allies including Sanders, gaining national attention for their fight for paid leave in the face of dangerous working conditions and industry greed.
Mike Baldwin, president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, said Wednesday that "the BRS would like to thank those members of Congress who support paid sick leave. Rail workers were deemed essential during the pandemic. They came to work sick because they didn't want to miss a day's pay, or worse be disciplined for their absence."
"This legislation is important to rail workers," he said of the HFA. "It is an essential need, and it isn't just a frivolous want."
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'Disappointing Day for Women': Senate GOP Filibuster Blocks Equal Rights Amendment
"It is shameful that despite the significant advances made in recent history, Americans continue to face discrimination on the basis of sex and lack equal rights in the Constitution," said the League of Women Voters CEO.
Apr 27, 2023
Equal Rights Amendment supporters on Thursday slammed the vast majority of U.S. Senate Republicans for filibustering a resolution that would make the 100-year-old measure the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.
The 51-47 vote to invoke cloture was short of the 60 needed for final consideration of the resolution. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) were the only Republicans to join all Democrats present in supporting a vote on the ERA. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) remains absent from the chamber, recovering from shingles.
"Today is a disappointing day for women," declared League of Women Voters of the United States CEO Virginia Kase Solomón. "Our nation's elected leaders have failed yet again to see us as equal members of this democracy."
"It is shameful that despite the significant advances made in recent history, Americans continue to face discrimination on the basis of sex and lack equal rights in the Constitution," she said. "Inequality hurts everyone, and we must not continue to be a nation that harmfully excludes and marginalizes women."
“We believe in the power of women to create a more perfect democracy, and that includes equal rights under the law, first and foremost," Kase Solomón added. "A strong democracy doesn't discriminate against women but empowers women. We will keep fighting, and we will keep showing up to hold our legislators accountable. Equality is essential to our democracy."
\u201cA minority of Senators just voted to filibuster against #SJRes4, which would have ratified the ERA & provided constitutional equality for half of this country.\n\nIt is unbelievable that in 2023 women & LGBTQ+ people still don\u2019t have equal protection in the Constitution.\u201d— Liz Shuler (@Liz Shuler) 1682617739
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director and CEO of MomsRising, agreed the vote was "a real disappointment," adding that "at this time when moms and women—and especially moms and women of color—face devastating wage discrimination, when our country has failed to adopt the programs and policies that would help parents and all caregivers achieve economic security, and when our bodily autonomy and access to reproductive healthcare is being gutted, all lawmakers from both political parties should support enshrining equal rights for women into our constitution."
"Still, we are encouraged by the fact that this vote took place today; it is evidence that this essential constitutional amendment remains on lawmakers' agenda," she said. "We will build from here. Moms want Congress to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, so states can ratify it at last."
First introduced in 1923, the ERA states:
Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Section 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3: This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
While the amendment passed both chambers of Congress in 1972, it must also be ratified by three-quarters of all state legislatures, or 38 states—a quota that wasn't hit until a 2020 vote in Virginia, decades after the 1982 ratification deadline.
The resolution blocked in the Senate on Thursday—led by Murkowski and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.)—would have eliminated that deadline so the ERA could take effect.
Some amendment supporters in the U.S. House of Representatives marched through the Capitol to the Senate Chamber on Thursday chanting "ERA now!"
\u201cAbout a dozen House members just walked across the Capitol building shouting "ERA! Now!" and have stopped outside the Senate chamber.\u201d— Jennifer Bendery (@Jennifer Bendery) 1682612669
Among them was Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)—co-chair of the Congressional ERA Caucus with Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.)—who said after the vote that "once again, Senate Republicans have failed to do the bare minimum to protect our rights and equality."
Signaling that ERA supporters in the upper chamber aren't ready to give up, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) switched his vote to "no" so that he can bring up the resolution again.
The White House said ahead of the vote that the Biden administration supports the resolution, adding that "in the United States of America, no one's rights should be denied on account of their sex. It is long past time to definitively enshrine the principle of gender equality in the Constitution. Gender equality is not only a moral issue: The full participation of women and girls across all aspects of our society is essential to our economic prosperity, our security, and the health of our democracy."
This post has been updated with comment from MomsRising.
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