Trump says he supports IVF after Alabama court decision

Former President Donald Trump declared his support for in vitro fertilization treatment and called on Alabama lawmakers to preserve access to it after a ruling by the state’s high court forced hospitals there to stop offering the procedure.

Trump addressed the issue in a post on Truth Social on Friday, days after the Alabama court’s ruling declaring embryos are children. Democrats have sought to tie that decision to broader GOP efforts to restrict access to abortion since the reversal of Roe v. Wade. And President Joe Biden’s campaign has laid blame for the ruling squarely at the feet of Trump, noting that he has taken pride in the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn abortion protections.

Trump has taken credit for appointing the justices who overturned Roe on the campaign trail, but has shied away from publicly embracing the more hardline anti-abortion and anti-contraception policies sought by some social conservatives.

“Like the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of Americans, including 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 post on Truth Social.

The post came hours after a memo revealed the leading Republican Senate campaign arm is urging candidates to publicly support IVF. Earlier this week, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, the sole Republican still running against Trump in the GOP primary, said she believed that embryos “are babies.”

The Biden campaign wasted little time accusing Trump of trying to divert attention away from the role he played in ending Roe v. Wade.

“American women couldn’t care less what Donald Trump posts on Truth Social, they care that they can’t access fertility treatment because of him,” said campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez. “Let’s be clear: Alabama families losing access to IVF is a direct result of Donald Trump’s Supreme Court justices overturning Roe v. Wade. Trump is responsible for 20 plus abortion bans, restrictions on women’s ability to decide if and when to grow a family, and attacks on contraception. He proudly overturned Roe, and brags about it on the campaign trail — as recently as last night.”

Alabama Republicans are already considering legislation to restore protections for IVF treatments. The House Speaker, Nathaniel Ledbetter, said that the legislature “will soon consider a solution that preserves our Alabama values by empowering IVF clinics to continue assisting couples in bringing new life into the world.”

And shortly after Trump put out his post, the chair of the House’s health committee, Paul Lee, texted that members “are working diligently to address this issue, ASAP.”

The state’s Republican governor, Kay Ivey, appears supportive too.

“Following the ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court, I said that in our state, we work to foster a culture of life,” Ivey said in a statement. “This certainly includes some couples hoping and praying to be parents who utilize IVF. Republican colleague in the Legislature Senator Tim Melson, along with Senate and House members, are working on a solution to ensure we protect these families and life itself. I look forward to continue closely following this issue.”