Sens. Ted Cruz (R‑TX) and Katie Britt (R‑AL) are unveiling legislation Monday that would ensure in vitro fertilization access is “legally protected nationwide” by making the practice a condition for states to receive federal Medicaid funding.If state legislatures or courts moved to ban IVF, those states would be ineligible to receive Medicaid funding under the bill. The legislation from Cruz and Britt comes as Republicans have tried to distance themselves from a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that created a political headache for Republicans that risks alienating swing voters ahead of the November election and in the aftermath of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
The legislation does not prevent states from setting up “health and safety standards to govern IVF,” but the senators say by placing funding conditions on the practice, it simply “ensures that …