MEDLEY, Fla. – At a campaign stop at a family-owned business in Medley, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, snapped back at opponents criticizing his vote to block a bill to protect in-vitro fertilization while, at the same time, voicing his full support of IVF in family planning.
Local 10 reporter Glenna Milberg asked the Senator why he opposed the Democratic-led “Right to IVF” bill.
“What they’re doing is way more than one thing,” Scott said. “They always take away religious freedom. You can’t do that.”
Scott was referencing concerns that the “Right to IVF” bill language could limit religious opposition to the procedure.
Scott’s newest campaign ad is all about IVF and his family’s personal experience. His youngest daughter is currently undergoing IVF treatments.
He criticized Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer’s bringing the bill to a vote as a way to deflect attention from other issues not as favorable to Democrats in this election year.
“I had a resolution up there that says we need to support IVF; I can’t get one Democrat to sign on,” said Scott.
Reproductive rights are a priority campaign issue for Democrats, counting on opposition to cascading conservative state bans on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade.
Florida’s U.S. Senate race is a nationally-watched marquis race. Both incumbent Scott and Democrats’ front-runner challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell have primaries to get through first in August.