International
Democrats pressure Donald Trump with a vote in the Senate on in vitro fertilization
In an attempt to corner former US president and Republican candidate Donald Trump, Senate Democrats put to a vote on Tuesday a bill to guarantee access to ‘in vitro’ fertilization, a proposal that the conservatives blocked.
The vote took place just two weeks after Trump said that, if elected in the November 5 elections, he will not only protect access to in vitro fertilization, but will also make the Government or insurers cover the cost of this service.
Taking advantage of these statements with which they intend to attract moderate voters, the Senate Democrats decided to put the legislative initiative back to a vote, three months after it was blocked by the Republicans.
The architect of this strategy was the leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, who this Tuesday appeared with his co-religionists at a press conference on the stairs of Congress, surrounded by dozens of photos of families with children conceived by ‘in vitro’ fertilization.
“For many Americans, starting a family is one of the greatest joys. However, millions of people fight infertility every year. Unfortunately, as we have seen this year, access to ‘in vitro’ fertilization can no longer be taken for granted,” he said before the vote.
The senator recalled how the conservative majority of the US Supreme Court ended in June 2022 with federal protections against abortion by repealing the ‘Roe vs Wade’ ruling, which protected that right for half a century, allowing each state to set its own rules.
Twenty months later, the highest judicial instance of the conservative state of Alabama banned ‘in vitro’ fertilization by accepting the argument of the evangelical right that frozen embryos should be considered children.
That decision, later reversed by the Alabama state parliament, has fueled the debate about this reproductive method that has infiltrated the election campaign. The vice president and Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, defends the technique, while Trump has maintained ambiguous positions.
Although he recently expressed his support for in vitro fertilization, he has also repeatedly boasted of having appointed the three Supreme Court judges who contributed to annul the federal right to abortion.
Trump has promoted the idea that the Republican Party is a “leader” in ‘in vitro’ fertilization, but the reality is that the formation is divided: the moderates are committed to protecting this method and the most religious sectors consider that it should be banned.
For his part, Harris has made the defense of reproductive rights a pillar of his campaign. In a statement issued after the Republican blockade of the measure, he harshly criticized the position of the Republican Party and described its resistance to women “freely deciding on their own bodies” as “extreme, dangerous and wrong.”
The legislative project, baptized as the “Law of the Right to ‘in vitro’ fertilization”, received the support of all Democrats and Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine). The rest of the Republicans opposed it.
The text only received 51 votes in favor and could not exceed the barrier of 60 supports necessary to be debated in the Senate and, subsequently, be submitted to a final vote.
The project aimed to make access to ‘in vitro’ fertilization more affordable by requiring some insurers to cover fertility treatments.
According to the FertilityIQ organization, dedicated to providing information and guidance on fertility, the average cost can exceed $20,000. However, the exact price depends on the circumstances of each patient, including the coverage of their insurance.
International
Biden to attend Trump’s inauguration in January
US President Joe Biden will attend the inauguration ceremony of Donald Trump in January, the White House announced on Monday, despite the fact that the Republican did not attend Biden’s inauguration four years ago.
“The president promised that he would attend the inauguration of whoever won the election. He and the First Lady will keep that promise and attend,” said spokesperson Andrew Bates to reporters traveling with Biden on Air Force One.
“He sees it as an important demonstration of commitment to our democratic values and to honoring the will of the people, while we continue to ensure a smooth and effective transition,” Bates added.
Despite describing Trump as a threat to democracy during the election campaign, Biden seeks to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power to the Republican that Trump denied him.
Biden invited the president-elect to the White House just days after the November 5 election, in which Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
The 82-year-old Democrat dropped out of the presidential race for a second term in July and supported Harris after her disastrous performance in a televised debate led Democrats to question her fitness for the office due to concerns over her health and mental agility.
International
Mexico’s Sheinbaum warns Trump: Tariffs won’t stop migration or drug consumption
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum warned Donald Trump on Tuesday that new tariffs will not stop irregular migration or drug consumption in the United States, following the elected president’s threat to impose a 25% tariff on Mexican imports.
“President Trump, it is not with threats or tariffs that the migratory phenomenon or drug consumption in the United States will be stopped,” said the left-wing president while reading a letter she plans to send to the elected president. She also proposed initiating a dialogue.
International
Iran’s Khamenei calls ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu insufficient
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, described the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes as “insufficient” and stated that the prime minister deserves a “death sentence.”
The court, based in The Hague, issued arrest warrants on Thursday against Netanyahu, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas’s military leader Mohammed Deif for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In his first speech since the court issued the arrest orders, Khamenei called the arrest warrant against Netanyahu “insufficient.” He further stated, “These criminal leaders must be sentenced to death,” referring to Netanyahu and Gallant, while addressing a group of Basij volunteers, an Islamist militia that can act as a replacement for security forces.
-
International4 days ago
Trump appoints new members to his government cabinet
-
International3 days ago
Armed clashes in northwestern Pakistan leave at least 35 dead and 50 injured
-
International3 days ago
Ukraine attacks the port of Berdyansk with missiles, according to pro-Russian authorities
-
International2 days ago
UNICEF reports 70% increase in child recruitment by gangs in Haiti
-
International2 days ago
Guatemalan President Arévalo sends best wishes to Uruguay’s new president Orsi
-
International2 days ago
Petro says Orsi’s victory reflects Latin America’s desire for change and unity
-
International3 days ago
“The Bukele recipe is not applicable to Santiago,” says its elected mayor, Mario Desbordes
-
International4 days ago
Government paves the way for ‘Gordo Dan’, from the “armed arm of Milei”, to be a candidate
-
International2 days ago
UN Report: 51,100 women and girls killed worldwide in 2023 in femicides
-
International3 days ago
The number of dead and the number of injured in the Israeli attack on downtown Beirut rises to 20
-
International2 days ago
Venezuelan president Maduro congratulates Yamandú Orsi on Uruguay’s election victory
-
International3 days ago
At least 120 dead in the Gaza Strip in the last 48 hours from Israeli attacks
-
International16 hours ago
Biden to attend Trump’s inauguration in January
-
Central America16 hours ago
UN experts concerned over human rights impact of Nicaragua’s new constitutional changes
-
International16 hours ago
Iran’s Khamenei calls ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu insufficient
-
International16 hours ago
Mexico’s Sheinbaum warns Trump: Tariffs won’t stop migration or drug consumption
-
International16 hours ago
U.S. says ceasefire deal with Hezbollah is close as Israel intensifies bombing campaign
-
International4 days ago
Trump chooses the members of his government in charge of health and epidemics in the US
-
International3 days ago
At least 10 people died at the hands of strangers in a mosque in northern Afghanistan
-
International3 days ago
Cristina Fernández demands the restitution of the pensions that the Milei Government took away from her
-
International4 days ago
The Venezuelan Prosecutor’s Office investigates María Corina Machado for supporting a law approved in the US House of Law
-
International3 days ago
The former Chancellor of Peru asks the US and Europe to freeze assets of “corrupt jers of Venezuela”
-
International3 days ago
Controlled detonation of a suspicious package next to the US Embassy in London
-
International16 hours ago
Death toll in Gaza reaches 44,249 as 14 more people die in last 24 hours
-
International3 days ago
Change course or follow the same line: Uruguay elects its new president on Sunday
-
Internacionales2 days ago
Latin american leaders celebrate Yamandú Orsi’s victory in Uruguay’s historic election
-
International3 days ago
Possible lack of final agreement overspeaks Baku summit negotiations
-
International2 days ago
G7 Foreign Ministers to meet near Rome for talks on Middle East and Ukraine
-
International2 days ago
Yamandú Orsi calls for unity in victory speech after winning Uruguay’s presidency
-
International3 days ago
Rutte and Trump discussed in Florida the issues of “global security” facing NATO
-
International16 hours ago
India’s Coast Guard seizes 5.5 tons of methamphetamine in largest ever drug bust
-
International16 hours ago
China issues yellow alert for snowstorms and cold waves in northeast regions