House Republicans and GOP candidates are pushing back against the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that determined frozen embryos are children, causing in vitro fertilization procedures throughout the state to be halted.
Alabama’s high court essentially placed a target on the backs of Republicans who are heading into a critical general election this November, as the embryo decision risks alienating swing voters and highlights another manner in which the striking down of Roe v. Wade is affecting more people than those who are anti-abortion.
Statistically, many GOP voters who have suffered from the inability to conceive naturally have undergone IVF treatments, so seeing that choice taken from them could do consequential damage to independent and centrist Republican voters.
In the week following the ruling, GOP legislators, on the whole, were relatively silent, but now Republican lawmakers and candidates are looking to distance themselves from the ruling. David McCormick, Republican primary candidate for Pennsylvania Senate, blasted the court’s decision on Friday morning.
“IVF is a ray of hope for millions of Americans seeking the blessing of children,” McCormick said in a post on X. “I oppose any effort to restrict it.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said the court “correctly assessed the law” but said the state’s law needs to be rewritten for the sake of the party.
“I believe the Alabama law needs to change because the Republican Party cannot be the party against family formation,” he said in an interview with CNN NewsNight.
“Something is totally wrong,” the congressman continued. “The people who want to have a family should have the government and the law on their side. And the notion that discarded embryos in an IVF somehow turn these people, who want children and want families and want the American dream, into criminals is really wrong.”
Gaetz added that being pro-life “means being pro-IVF.”
“I’ve worked side-by-side with progressive Democrats like Sara Jacobs to make sure that our military members can have access to IVF in the event of deployment or other challenges to family formation,” Gaetz said. “So, you’re always going to find me on the side of family formation, not against family formation. I believe the Alabama legislature ought to amend their law so that IVF can occur safely in the Yellowhammer state.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who has frequently chastised her party for being too strict on women’s healthcare issues, said the House is drafting a resolution to respond to the Alabama ruling.
“We need to make sure we protect IVF for every woman across the country,” Mace told Politico. “I am really passionate about women’s issues. I think that sometimes our side gets it wrong: We don’t show compassion to women. In fact, we attack women like myself when I talk about rape, or when I talk about access to birth control, those kinds of things. And this is going to be an issue in ’24.”
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Vulnerable Republicans in New York who represent districts President Joe Biden carried in 2020 have also expressed their displeasure with the ruling. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) said in a statement to Axios that the decision “goes too far,” while Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) said the ruling will “rob countless Americans of the joys of family life.”
“I’m troubled by and oppose the ruling,” Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) told the outlet. “I support women and families who choose IVF to bring life into this world. They have my love and respect.”
