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Floor Speech

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Ms. WARREN. Madam President, just now, my friend and colleague Senator Tammy Duckworth, a longtime champion for IVF and a longtime champion for families, put forward an important bill that would ensure that families have access to the services they need to have a baby, including IVF.

Since then, Republicans have blocked this bill to protect IVF. Now, remember that for all their talk about supporting IVF, when it came down to it right here in this Chamber, Republicans blocked IVF protection.

Republican opposition to IVF is terrifying. It makes me furious. But it should not surprise anyone. Donald Trump set the stage for the attacks on reproductive rights when he stacked the Supreme Court with ultraconservative Justices and overturned Roe v. Wade. Since then, Republicans have banned or severely restricted abortion in 24 States. They are trying to ban medication abortion nationwide. Now in Alabama, these extremists have virtually outlawed IVF, fertility care that gives people a chance to start a family.

This has always been about conservative politicians controlling women's bodies. This has been Donald Trump and the Republicans' plan all along. And the opposition to Senator Duckworth's proposal today shows that Republicans are doubling down against reproductive freedom. They are coming for medication abortion, they are coming for birth control, and they are even coming for prenatal care. Make no mistake-- we will fight them every step of the way.

I want to talk for just a minute about the people who are affected by these extremist policies: families in Alabama who have been wanting and praying that IVF can help them have a baby; women who have injected themselves with medication for weeks or months or even years; people who have spent their entire life savings trying to start a family, only now to see their hopes go down the drain; LGBTQ families who have spent years taking on every obstacle just for the chance to have a baby of their own, and for some, this was the last chance.

Now Republicans like Donald Trump and those in this Chamber might try to backtrack, might try to say that they are working to protect IVF, but it is all talk. Senate Republicans' actions today speak louder than any empty promises they make. Americans can tell when Republican politicians try to talk out of both sides of their mouths.

The American people want reproductive freedom. The American people support parents and those desperately trying to become parents.

So here is what comes next. Democrats have made clear that we stand with President Biden, with Vice President Harris, and with the millions of families affected by these heartless policies. We stand to protect reproductive rights for people all across this country. Together, we will fight for every person to have access to a safe abortion. We will fight for every family to have access to the services needed to have a baby. And we won't stop fighting until we secure the Congress that we need to protect reproductive freedom for everyone in this country.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of Senator Duckworth's bill, and together we are going to get this done.

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