Montana’s senators split Thursday on a Democratic-backed bill to establish federal protections for in vitro fertilization.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, voted in favor of the legislation, which earned 48 votes. Republican Sen. Steve Daines was one of 47 senators to oppose the legislation. 

To go to the Senate floor for passage, the bill needed 60 votes of support.

The Right to I.V.F. Act was sponsored by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who has benefited from the fertility treatment. 

The act aimed at giving reproductive technologies, like in vitro fertilization, federal protections, establishing a statutory right for patients to access IVF, requiring more insurance providers to cover fertility care, and also helping service members and veterans access the treatment.

“Being a father and a grandfather is one of the greatest joys in my life, and I believe every Montana woman and family should have the freedom to start or grow their own family,” said Tester in a statement after the vote.  

Sen. Steve Daines called the act a political ploy by Democrats. 

“Sen. Daines fully supports IVF services and there is no threat of losing access to IVF. This was yet another show vote by [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer to distract from the fact that President Biden and Senate Democrats have created a southern border crisis allowing terrorists to come into our country and sky-high inflation that is shrinking the paychecks of Montana families,” Rachel Dumke, a spokesperson for the Senator, said in an email. 

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH care has grown bitterly contentious on the Hill following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, which generally protected abortion access nationwide. 

Earlier this year, the Alabama Supreme Court declared that embryos created through IVF are children, a decision with roiling implications given that extra embryos created during the process can be stored or destroyed. While Alabama’s Legislature later intervened, several hospitals and clinics halted IVF services in the state.  

Thursday’s Senate vote came the day after the Southern Baptist Convention, a 14-million member network of churches across the nation, voted to oppose IVF altogether.

Republicans have pushed an alternative bill to protect IVF, sponsored by Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, but a Democratic senator blocked it earlier in the week. The legislation would have withheld Medicaid funding for states that ban on IVF. 

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., objected to the motion, calling it a “PR tool.” Other Democrats criticized the measure for not going far enough to protect fertility treatments.

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.