Maddow Blog | Rick Scott runs pro-IVF ad after voting against IVF protections

In late February, Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth tried to advance the Access to Family Building Act, which would create legal protections for in vitro fertilization at the national level. It failed in response to Republican opposition.

Two weeks later, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray tried to pass a bill to expand access to in vitro fertilization for military service members and veterans. It, too, was derailed by Republican opposition.

Last Thursday, Senate Democrats again tried to legislate on the issue, prioritizing the Right to IVF Act, which would prohibit states from imposing restrictions on the treatments, while also making IVF more affordable. To advance, it needed nearly a dozen GOP votes. It received two: Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Maine’s Susan Collins voted with the Democratic majority, but the rest of their Republican colleagues killed the bill.

One day later, one of the GOP senators who voted against the legislation unveiled a new ad as part of his re-election campaign. The New Republic noted:

On Friday, the far-right incumbent unveiled this 30-second commercial. Scott promoted the ad via social media alongside text that read, “Each of my 7 grandkids is a precious gift from God. But sometimes families need help. You can count on this grandpa to always protect IVF.”

It prompted Duckworth, the lead sponsor on the Right to IVF Act, to remind her colleague from Florida, “You literally voted against my bill to protect IVF yesterday.”

As is always the case, context matters. Scott has gone out of his way to present himself to the public as an IVF champion, and it’s true that Republicans have come up with alternative legislation of their own related to the fertility treatments.

That said, it’s also true that the rival GOP bills don’t go nearly as far as the Democratic legislation — the one that received bipartisan backing last week — to help families. What’s more, Scott must’ve realized that he was opening himself up to criticism by saying the public can “always” count on him to protect IVF literally the day after he voted against legislation to protect IVF.

Indeed, the Florida Republican could’ve voted with Collins and Murkowski to advance the bill — it would’ve failed anyway — but Scott nevertheless voted “no.”

Of course, the larger significance to this goes beyond one senator’s apparent hypocrisy and the gap between what the GOP says and what the GOP does on this issue: Scott’s ad also suggests that Republicans feel vulnerable when it comes to IVF as a campaign issue. Expect to see quite a few related ads from both parties between now and November.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com