On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Democrats held a press briefing after proposed legislation to protect IVF treatment failed.
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NewsTranscript
00:00All right, good afternoon, and Senator Duckworth is on her way, but we wanted to get started.
00:09So folks, and I'm joined of course by Senators Murray and Booker, they and Senator Duckworth
00:15are the three lead sponsors of this legislation.
00:19Now it's a very sad day for millions of Americans who want to become parents but struggle with
00:24infertility because today nearly every Republican just blocked a bill that would have protected
00:31people's access to IVF.
00:35Protecting IVF should have been the easiest yes vote the Senate has taken all year.
00:40Republicans cannot say they're a pro-family but then vote against protecting IVF, but
00:47that's exactly what they did.
00:49Protecting IVF was not in any sense a show vote.
00:53It was a show us who you are vote.
00:56And today Senate Republicans showed us just who they were.
00:59They are against supporting and protecting IVF.
01:04The contrast is glaring.
01:06Here in the Senate, Democrats are talking about protecting women's rights, but a couple
01:11of blocks away, Trump and Republicans are talking about protecting tax cuts for the
01:16very wealthy.
01:18It's so shameful that things have sunk this low.
01:20Just a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable, unimaginable even, that access to a safe and
01:26wisely widely used reproductive service like IVF would be put at risk.
01:31And yet look where America is today.
01:33Look what the Alabama Supreme Court did a few months ago.
01:37Look at some of the views of some of the MAGA right people on the courts and it is justified
01:43to worry about the future of IVF.
01:47And today's vote makes it even more worrisome.
01:50And even the bill, Senator Cruz feeling the heat of being up for reelection, tried to
01:56come up with sort of a sham bill.
01:59But even that was opposed by some of these extreme groups that have real say over the
02:04Republican Party.
02:06Now that the hard right has finished eliminating Roe, they're setting their sights on IVF.
02:13Look what happened yesterday in Indianapolis.
02:16Look at the statements that have come out from major conservative organizations like
02:20the Heritage Foundation, the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, and some of our major religious
02:26organizations say now that they should oppose IVF.
02:29So this worry is real and this vote was necessary so that we could show America where everyone
02:36was and hopefully the people who voted against it will feel that pressure.
02:41But make no mistake about it.
02:43The anti-abortion movement is laying the groundwork to go after IVF next.
02:49By blocking the Right to IVF Act, Senate Republicans have fallen in line with MAGA extremists who
02:55have made it clear IVF is their next target.
02:58It's appalling.
02:59It's un-American.
03:00It's deeply hurtful for anyone out there who wants to become a parent but has struggled
03:05with infertility.
03:07We should be working to help those families.
03:10But Senate Republicans just left them out in the cold in favor of extremists.
03:14What a mean-spirited message to send to the American people.
03:20And I have to say, this is personal to me, I have a beautiful one-year-old grandson because
03:25of IVF, the miracle of IVF.
03:28So I know what it means when families need IVF and struggle to make sure that it works
03:35and then see the beauty of a new child in their family.
03:40By blocking the IVF Act, Senate Republicans have fallen in line, as I said, with the MAGA
03:45extremists.
03:47Republicans cannot say they're pro-family and then vote against protecting access to
03:51IVF.
03:53Senator Cruz and Britt even organized a statement yesterday signed by all Republican senators
03:58saying that they of course support IVF, but they weren't going to vote on a bill that
04:04protects it.
04:05It's easy as could be to see through that one.
04:10Easy to see through that one.
04:12They're feeling the heat, they're worried, but they're afraid to buck the MAGA right
04:15and truly protect IVF.
04:18We were sent here to vote on legislation and pass laws, not just issue statements that
04:23aren't worth the paper that they are printed on.
04:27It shows you how Republicans are twisting themselves in knots, trying to run away from
04:32their bad record on reproductive freedom, but at the same time, they've been taken
04:37hostage by the MAGA right.
04:39So today's a sad, sad day, but we're going to keep fighting.
04:43We're going to fight to preserve this vital right.
04:46Senator Murray.
04:47Oops, sorry.
04:48Oh, Senator Duckworth is here.
04:49I snuck in on you.
04:50Go ahead, Senator Duckworth.
04:51I'm sorry, I didn't see you.
04:52No, no, no, no, it's okay.
04:53I'm in the middle of NDAA markup, sir.
04:54I snuck in on you.
04:55Well, hi everyone.
04:56Look, I don't have it in me to beat around the bush today.
05:06I am angry, really, really angry.
05:10For months now, Republicans have been running to cable news shows, telling every camera
05:13in sight that, just like their ringmaster Donald Trump, no one cares more about women
05:18than they do, that no one cares more about defending our rights than they do, and that
05:23all they want in this scary post-Alabama ruling reality is to defend Americans' access
05:27to IVF.
05:28Well, that's bullshit.
05:31Just minutes ago, the GOP refused to help me pass my Right to IVF Act, which would have
05:35enshrined into law the simple standard that no hopeful parent or doctor can be criminalized
05:41for IVF.
05:42If Republicans actually cared as much about protecting IVF as they do about protecting
05:46Donald Trump's poll numbers, this would have been a simple yes vote.
05:50If they actually wanted to find real solutions to this living nightmare that countless Americans
05:54are facing, they would have joined me in passing this obvious, obviously good piece of legislation.
06:00And they'd stop trying to pass sham, scammy bills that aim to mislead voters.
06:06Bills that are more like worthless fire insurance policies written by the arsonists who fanned
06:09the flames in the first place than they are real legislative solutions.
06:14When someone shows you who they are the first time, believe it, that's how the saying goes.
06:18Well, Republicans have shown us who they are 1, 2, 3, 4 thousand times.
06:24When the rubber meets the road and we ask not just for empty words on Twitter, but for
06:28their vote to protect IVF, they just don't have it in them to even pretend to care about
06:33the women in this country.
06:35As a mom who struggled with infertility for years, as a parent who needed IVF to have
06:39my two beautiful little girls, all I can say to my Republican colleagues in this moment
06:43is, how dare you?
06:46And I wish you luck as you try to excuse this vote to every one of your constituents
06:49back home who are facing the heart-wrenching struggle of trying to have their own little
06:53girl or boy to swaddle and cuddle and love, and are terrified that you might have just
06:58snatched their dreams of a family away from them.
07:01Shame on you.
07:02Well done.
07:03Senator Murray.
07:04Do you want to go?
07:05I have to go back.
07:06I'm sorry.
07:07He's got a lot of very heavy responsibility.
07:11I share the anger that you just heard because Republicans just voted against IVF for all
07:17the world to see on the record.
07:19So let's put to rest once and for all the idea that Republicans actually care about
07:24protecting IVF access.
07:26And while we're at it, let's put to rest this utter fiction that their own bill does anything
07:31to support IVF.
07:33I want to set the record perfectly straight here.
07:36The issue with the Republicans' bill is worse than saying it doesn't do enough to protect
07:41IVF.
07:42It is that their bill does nothing to meaningful protect IVF from the very real threats that
07:48lawmakers and anti-abortion extremists in their party are making all over this country.
07:54Their bill would allow states to regulate IVF out of existence.
08:00Their bill is silent on whether parents should be allowed to have clinics dispose of unused
08:06embryos, something that is a common and necessary part of the IVF process.
08:13And it's not just their bills.
08:15Republicans themselves are silent on this issue too, which is very telling.
08:19I asked Senator Cruz directly on the floor yesterday, do you support letting parents
08:24have unused embryos disposed of?
08:27Funny thing happened.
08:28He said on the floor he'd answer the question.
08:30He never did.
08:31He spoke about what some laws in some states are, but I'll tell you, he never actually
08:36said what he supported.
08:39He never said what he believes should be law.
08:42So I'll ask a question, and this is a question every Republican should have to answer, especially
08:47every Republican like Ted Cruz who pretends they want to protect IVF.
08:53Would you let parents dispose of unused embryos?
08:58That's it.
08:59That is the question.
09:00As a matter of law, do you think parents should be allowed to dispose of embryos?
09:05We are waiting.
09:07Now Senator Cruz was not willing to actually give a direct answer, but his record actually
09:11is pretty cut and dried.
09:13He supported a constitutional amendment to establish fetal personhood as the law of the
09:20land.
09:21That means a national abortion ban beginning at conception that says an embryo should have
09:28the exact same rights as a human being.
09:32It just doesn't get any clearer than that, especially not after the vote that we just
09:35had today, which put every Republican on the record on IVF.
09:41Republicans are going to keep trying to fearmonger, but it is very hard to hide a fire when everyone
09:46can see the flames.
09:48We saw what happened in Alabama, and we saw the chaos that it caused.
09:52We saw what happened yesterday in Indianapolis, a prominent conservative group voting to
09:58fully, explicitly oppose IVF, and we saw how Republicans voted today.
10:05Everyone in America knows the threat to IVF is real, and it is not going away because
10:11it's convenient for Republicans.
10:14And Democrats, I just want you to know we're not going away either.
10:17We're going to keep fighting to protect IVF.
10:20We're going to make sure everyone has access to medical care and make sure that no politician
10:26stands in their way.
10:27Thank you.
10:28Thank you.
10:29Senator Booker.
10:30So this is an astonishing day for me, and it should be an astonishing day for Americans
10:34all across our country from all political backgrounds, independents, Democrats, and
10:39Republicans.
10:40IVF treatment is wildly supported by America.
10:45And yet by a very fraction, small, narrow band of radical right-wing judges, legislators,
10:55and others who want to impress their values and views upon the rest of America, who want
11:01to ban this practice, who want to prevent thousands, hundreds of thousands of families
11:09from having the joy of the miracle of birth, today was an astonishing day, and people should
11:14see it for what it was, that Congressional Republicans do not want to defend IVF from
11:20the clear attacks on the practice.
11:26This is a moment which is a binary choice.
11:30Do you support IVF or you don't?
11:33Do you support families having access to this incredible process that allows children to
11:40be born or not?
11:43And today we saw clearly that most of the Senate Republicans are not willing to stand
11:49up and protect IVF treatment in the United States of America.
11:55And it's worse.
11:57They voted to block military families who want to freeze their sperm or their eggs before
12:04they go off to their military service, put themselves and their bodies at risk, often
12:11sacrificing their even ability to have children because of injuries or their military engagement.
12:21They denied the opportunity to expand IVF treatment to more families in the United States
12:27of America who can't afford it by stopping insurance companies from expanding coverage.
12:35And so this is clear.
12:37We have seen an assault in this country by a radical court that is starting to slowly
12:44erode reproductive rights in this country.
12:47We saw it with Dobbs.
12:49We saw it with one Trump-appointed judge, what he did with Miffy Pristone.
12:53We saw it in Alabama with IVF.
12:57The choice is clear for Americans.
13:00Do they want to support people who preserve and protect rights and expand opportunities
13:04or people who are trying to erode rights and access to reproductive care?
13:10Thank you, Senator Booker.
13:11Questions on this subject?
13:12Yes.
13:13Several votes on reproductive health.
13:14Are there more coming?
13:15Yes.
13:16Stay tuned.
13:17There are more coming.
13:18This is an issue so important, not just to us, but to the women and men of America, that
13:25we're not going to stop fighting and you're going to see some more things coming and more
13:28votes coming.
13:29Yes.
13:30Republicans are saying that they're not cooperating on these because you're not reaching across
13:31the aisle.
13:32You're not looking for something that they're willing to support.
13:33I mean, are there any plans to kind of go through markup, bring legislation to the committee
13:34that Republicans can get on with?
13:35Very simple answer.
13:36We gave them a vote on the motion to proceed.
13:37If they would have voted yes, they could have made amendments.
13:38They could have put their own legislation on the floor.
13:39They refused.
13:40They're afraid to vote on this issue.
13:41Plain and simple.
13:42Yes.
13:43Senator, how do you respond to former President Trump trying to downplay this issue, telling
13:44Republicans in the meetings that he's not going to do it?
13:45He's not going to do it.
13:46He's not going to do it.
13:47He's not going to do it.
13:48He's not going to do it.
13:49He's not going to do it.
13:50He's not going to do it.
13:52I don't think American women have any trust in President Trump in terms of preserving
14:19reproductive rights? Yes. I just want to answer that. Patty, yes. Women in every state in
14:26this country are Americans. They should have the same rights. Oh, sorry. Including the
14:33right to bump into people. Yes. Senator, would Democrats consider a perhaps less costly version
14:39of this package that doesn't include the insurance? We believe our proposal is the correct proposal.
14:44And again, if Republicans were ready to vote on amendments, we gave them that opportunity.
14:49All they had to do was vote on the motion to proceed, which allows them to do amendments
14:54and do votes. You know what's going on. We all know what's going on. They're afraid to
14:58vote on anything that might protect women's rights. They're afraid of the Susan B. Anthony
15:02League. They're afraid of some of the right-wing religious groups. They're afraid of the Heritage
15:08Foundation. Okay. Yes. Excuse me. The AI bill that went on the floor last night, that
15:15was blocked. Do you have any plans to use the same kind of court time to try to pass
15:20one of these bills, the AI bill, that should go on my ticket app? Well, it was amazing
15:24that one person blocked that bill, which is so needed. It prevents AI from being used
15:31to use false nudity on people. And it's gross. It's disgusting. We hope that person who blocked
15:37the bill will rethink their opposition. Yes.
15:40Two things. Yesterday or this week, the Southern Baptist Convention voted against IDF. A day
15:49before, the Senate Republicans brought legislation to protect IDF. And I was also reporting in
15:55Rolling Stone, New York Times, about Justice Alito saying that he agrees the nation needs
16:01I think there are right-wing views of many different types that are infringing on women's
16:13rights. Absolutely. And so, you know, we're going to keep fighting. And just in answer
16:19to your question about AI, this week, the Commerce Committee, I mean, the HSGAC Committee
16:24reported out a bill. The Commerce Committee is considering bills. We're going to keep
16:28fighting for that AI. And we may find other ways to pass that legislation if that person
16:33doesn't relent. Okay? Thank you.
16:36I just want to make one more point.
16:38Last question.
16:39I just want to make one more point. Senator Schumer, I want to thank him. He's putting
16:42bills on the floor that are clear choices that are supported by the majority of Americans,
16:48whether it's these AI bills or going forward or especially around reproductive rights.
16:53These are not controversial with mainstream Americans. Senator Schumer is pushing an agenda
16:57that is supported not by Democrats, but supported by Americans. And I'm grateful he's going
17:01to continue that kind of leadership.
17:02And by the way, one thing I left out. I love Milwaukee. It is a great city.