Former US President Donald Trump said Friday (Feb 23) that he favors IVF therapy, joining a litany of Republicans who have distanced themselves from an Alabama court verdict on the topic. The state’s highest court declared last week that frozen embryos have the same rights as children and that adults can be held accountable for destroying them. Following the court’s decision, at least three facilities suspended IVF treatments. Trump encouraged Alabama to find “an immediate solution” to the problem. “Our goal is to make it simpler for mothers and fathers to have children, not harder! The former president posted on his Truth Social platform.”
The email also used statistics from internal polls conducted by Kellyanne Conway, a former Trump White House aide, to demonstrate that access to IVF is popular
“[Like] the VAST MAJORITY of Republicans, Conservatives, Christians, and Pro-Life Americans, I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby,” he said in a statement. This was Trump’s first comment on the topic, implying his opposition to a verdict that, according to some Republicans, might undermine their political prospects by disrupting their strategy to earn the support of suburban women and swing voters. Meanwhile, to alleviate worries about IVF in Alabama, Republican Attorney General Steve Marshall stated on Friday (Feb 23) that he does not intend to pursue either IVF practitioners or the families of people who choose IVF.
The National Republican Senate Committee, distancing itself from the Alabama ruling, sent out a memo asking candidates to support IVF and “campaign on increasing access” to the treatment. “There are zero Republican Senate candidates who support efforts to restrict access to fertility treatments,” said the committee’s executive director, Jason Thielman, in the memo as reported by BBC. The email also used statistics from internal polls conducted by Kellyanne Conway, a former Trump White House aide, to demonstrate that access to IVF is popular. Meanwhile, following the document’s release, other Senate candidates, like Arizona’s Kari Lake, came out publicly in support of access to the medication.