Senate Democrats to vote again on IVF bill that GOP blocked in June over abortion law concerns

The Democratic-led Senate will reportedly vote Tuesday for a second time in recent months on legislation that would protect American families' access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) nationally and require health insurance companies to cover fertility treatments.

Senate Republicans blocked the first attempt in June and are expected to do so again, arguing that the federal government should not tell states how to handle the issue.

Senate Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer is apparently holding a second vote in an attempt to show chamber Republicans oppose the idea while GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump continues to make support of IVF treatments a key part of his campaign. 

As of 1 p.m. ET, the vote had yet to be officially scheduled by the Senate clerk's office but Schumer has said the vote will take place at some point on Tuesday.

The legislation will need 60 votes in the 100-member chamber to move to a final vote on the Senate floor.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who had two children through IVF, introduced the bill, titled the Right to IVF Act.

Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, and Susan Collins, of Maine, were the sole GOP senators who voted along with Democrats the first time.

GOP Sens. Ted Cruz, of Texas., and Kate Britt, of Alabama, have introduced a separate bill, titled "The IVF Protection Act." 

Republicans have argued they support IVF, but that the Right to IVF Act is an attempt to take abortion law away from states.

"I voted against this legislation because it goes far beyond IVF," Cruz said earlier this year. "It is designed to be a backdoor to federalize abortion and other issues that are best debated and considered on their own merits, not hidden in a bill that purportedly addresses IVF. Alarmingly, it also actively exempts itself from Religious Freedom Restoration Act conscience protections."