This week, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) wouldn’t let CNN host Kaitlan Collins stop him from telling the truth about a bill that deals with IVF.
Earlier in the day, the Senate failed to pass a bill that would have protected IVF at the government level. If almost every Republican senator votes against the bill, it fails a second time. The only Republicans to vote for it were Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
“No, Kaitlan, you’re not going to stop me there.”
The Democratic story quickly turned into the idea that Republicans are once again trying to take away rights and stop fertility care.
Collins repeated that story herself. Before bringing Cotton on the show, she said:
“Today, Senate Republicans stopped a bill that would have made sure everyone could get something that a lot of them say they support. It’s also exactly what Donald Trump has said he backs. Democrats tried again but failed to pass that bill, which would have made IVF available to everyone in the country. They are going after Republicans who voted “No” tonight with this vote.”
Cotton told Collins that he needed to “fix almost everything you said there” when it was his turn to talk.
“First, IVF is safe in this country. President Trump and all 49 Republican senators are in favor of IVF. No state limits or bans IVF,” Cotton said. “Secondly, this bill wasn’t just about IVF.”
Collins got defensive right away, even though he had only stated those two basic facts. Cotton, on the other hand, made it clear what the bill really does include.
“You said it had to make sure people could get in. Currently, all 50 states promise access,” he said. “You also said it had to do with IVF. It’s not just IVF. Coverage for controversial experimental procedures like cloning, gene editing, or giving fertility treatments to guys who think they’re women would have to be required by this bill, whatever that means.”
Collins tried to cut Cotton off when he tried to talk about how the bill “would also endanger religious freedoms” by making Christians do things that are against their beliefs.
She told him, “Let’s stop you there.”
Cotton replied, “No, Kaitlan, you’re not going to stop me there. Since you’re not telling the truth about what the bill is about. It’s about taking away religious freedom.”
Collins kept saying that the plan was good because “it would have guaranteed access to IVF” as the talk went on. Despite this, Cotton had to keep telling her that access to IVF is pretty much a given since not a single state limits it.
