Senate to vote again on IVF fertility protections in election-year push

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate will vote for the second time this year on whether to consider legislation that would establish a nationwide right to in vitro fertilization — Democrats' latest election-year attempt to force Republicans into a defensive stance on women's health issues.

Senators will vote Tuesday on whether to move forward with the legislation, a second try after Republicans already blocked it once earlier this year. The bill has little chance of passing, but Democrats are hoping to use the do-over vote to put pressure on Republican congressional candidates and lay out a contrast between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in the presidential race, especially as Trump has called himself a " leader on IVF."

The push started earlier this year after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. Several clinics in the state suspended IVF treatments until the GOP-led legislature rushed to enact a law to provide legal protections for the clinics.