By Amanda Terkel, Alex Tabet, Dasha Burns and Abigail Brooks —
NBC
News
As Republicans struggle to coalesce around the same abortion message ahead of the 2024 elections, a recent Alabama Supreme Court decision that embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) are considered “children”, has put the party in a new predicament.
The ruling has created complications for politicians who support restrictions on abortion, who defend that life begins at the moment of conception or consider that an embryo or fetus deserves all the rights of a person.
The ruling in Alabama reveals the far-reaching consequences that these types of positions mean for families, and the difficulties that Republicans still face in finding a way to talk about this issue to voters.
Many doctors and families are concerned that IVF is becoming less accessible, because people could theoretically be sued if they destroy an embryo.
During the IVF process,
embryos are often discarded if they have genetic abnormalities
or when patients decide they will not need them.
Three centers in that state have already suspended IVF services.
A technician prepares the fertilization of an egg under the electron microscope.Jens Kalaene / picture-alliance/dpa via AP file
On Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley told NBC News that she supported the Alabama ruling, saying: “Embryos, to me, are babies.”
But a few hours later, Haley appeared to backtrack on her comment, telling CNN: "I haven't said I agree with the Alabama ruling."
He added, however, that he continues to believe that “an embryo is an unborn baby.”
And on Thursday, Haley again tried to amend her response, saying that the state Supreme Court's decision may have been correct, but that new legislation was necessary: "I think (the court) did it based on the law, and I think Alabama You need to go back and review it.”
At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland on Thursday, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, responded, “Yes, I was all for it,” when asked what he thought of the decision declaring that embryos They are children.
[Alabama hospital pauses in vitro fertilization after ruling that considers frozen embryos children]
But he also didn't seem to be clear about what the decision consisted of.
“You have to see everything that is happening in the country.
It is an attack on families, on children,” she told NBC News.
“We need more children,” she added.
“We need people to have the opportunity to have children.”
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott on Thursday dodged a question about the Alabama ruling, saying,
“Well, I haven't studied the issue.”
The former presidential hopeful, who now endorses Donald Trump, mocked Haley for her confusing responses on the topic.
“I'm going to let Nikki Haley keep changing her answers on this,” said Scott, who pledged as a candidate to sign “the most conservative pro-life legislation” if he were elected president.
Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All, said she was not surprised by Scott and Tuberville's inability to answer seemingly simple questions about IVF.
“When you see people like Tommy Tuberville or Tim Scott today who feel uncomfortable answering questions, it's because they know how incredibly unpopular their position is,” Timmaraju noted.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris criticized the Alabama ruling, taking as a reference the decision of the United States Supreme Court to overturn the federal right to abortion.
“Make no mistake: this is a direct result of Donald Trump ending Roe v.
Wade,” Biden posted on his X account. “The Vice President and I will not stop until we restore the protections of Roe v.
Wade into federal law for all women in all states.”
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp also defended IVF on Thursday, saying: “There are a lot of people in this country who wouldn't have children if it weren't for that.”
In 2022, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that audio from Kemp appeared to indicate he was open to a state ban on embryo destruction.
But in a later comment, according to the newspaper, the governor's office indicated that it would not support such a proposal if it were formally presented.
Eggs and sperm stored in a liquid nitrogen tank.Jens Kalaene / picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
IVF allows doctors to test embryos for genetic abnormalities and implant only healthy ones.
But the Alabama ruling could force clinics to store all their embryos frozen — an expensive process — regardless of those genetic tests.
And IVF has long had bipartisan support.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, an outspoken opponent of abortion, opened up in his book about his and his wife's struggles with infertility, writing that his wife, Karen, underwent IVF on multiple occasions. .
“I fully support fertility treatments and believe they deserve the protection of the law,” he mentioned in 2022.
Trump has so far not commented on the ruling, and his campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Katie Daniel of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, whose mission is to end abortion, said the Alabama high court
made the right decision
, but that doesn't mean all IVF procedures have to end.
[Alabama's main hospital suspends in vitro fertilization due to the controversial ruling]
“The Alabama Court recognized what is obvious and a scientific fact: life begins at conception.
That doesn't mean fertility treatments are prohibited.
Rather, fertility treatments do not have to inadvertently or intentionally destroy the new life created,” said Daniel.
In Alabama, a Republican state legislator, Senator Tim Melson, said he planned to introduce legislation to protect IVF and clarify when embryos are viable.
“We all know that conception is a great argument that it is life.
I'm not going to argue that point, but it's not going to form into a life until it's put in the womb,” Melson told the Alabama Reflector.
The conservative movement's division was revealed Thursday at two different meetings.
At the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville, Tennessee, some participants supported the ruling.
Jo Anne Ramsay, from Virginia Beach, Virginia, mentioned that she believes “it's a baby from the moment sperm is released into a female,” and that “anything that destroys the life of a human being should be stopped.” .
Maureen Maldonado, from Flower Mound (Texas), reacted with a “Hallelujah” to the sentence.
“I believe they are viable human beings and should be protected just like you and me.
So I am very happy,” she added.
But at CPAC on Thursday, some Republican women expressed concern about the ruling.
Michele Schwab, of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, said she supports IVF because of the difficulties her own daughter had getting pregnant.
“My own daughter lost two babies.
So... I'm shocked,” Schwab added.
As for politicians who try to restrict IVF, Schwab assured that they will lose his vote: “I wouldn't support one who was against it.”