AMERIKA

Religious conservatives are coming out hot against IVF. Trump is in trouble

Eric Garcia
Fri, June 14, 2024 at 12:21 p.m. MDT·4 min read

On Wednesday, the day before former president Donald Trump paid a visit to Capitol Hill, Senators Katie Britt of Alabama and Ted Cruz of Texas were on the floor debating their legislation to protect access to IVF.

The two Republicans — one a rising star in the party who is the youngest female Senator, the other a firebrand conservative who is trying to rebrand himself as a consensus builder as Texas gets purpler — proposed the legislation in response to Democrats teeing up their own vote on legislation. Cruz and Britt were trying to make the argument that Republicans like them aren’t against the fertility treatment, all while avoiding voting for a Democrat-led law.

But just as Britt and Cruz were speaking, the Southern Baptist Convention voted on a resolution that denounced IVF. Their denunciation was based on the practice — normal during IVF treatment — of creating multiple embryos that could be potentially used in the future but many of which could be destroyed.

Democrats only began talking about IVF after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling classified frozen embryos as children under state law. That Alabama ruling mentioned Dobbs v Jackson, the US Supreme Court ruling that killed Roe v Wade, which came because of Supreme Court justices that Trump nominated and Cruz voted to confirm.

The whole episode shows how almost two years after the Dobbs case, Republicans have still not figured out how to talk about abortion — and there are few signs they will figure it out soon.

As Inside Washington reported on Thursday, Trump talked with congressional Republicans about abortion when he appeared on Capitol Hill, but only spoke in platitudes. Representative Nancy Mace, a pro-Trump Republican, said that Trump talked about exceptions for rape and incest and the life of the mother, but apart from that was low on specifics.

In April, he gave a mealy-mouthed, meandering statement on Truth Social where he refused to support a national abortion ban and essentially said the issue should be left to states. That infuriated some conservatives.

Similarly, Trump tried doing an abortion two-step earlier this week when he delivered a pre-recorded address to a forum held by the Danbury Institute, which denounces abortion as “child sacrifice.” The former president notably did not use the word “abortion” in his address at the conference. But one of the speakers there, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Dr Albert Mohler, said that IVF had caused “the alienation of reproduction from the conjugal setting” and wanton destruction of babies.

Such open hostility toward IVF from the second-largest denomination in the United States — behind only Roman Catholicism — shows that Democratic attacks about Republicans don’t come out of thin air. They are rooted in explicit opposition from a denomination that counts many Republicans as its congregants.

But Trump has not given Republicans marching orders about how to discuss the issue.

Indeed, Kevin Hern, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest subgroup in the House GOP, told The Independent that Trump did not bring up IVF at all when he spoke to Republicans. That’s a misstep, because party members need some instruction in how to talk about it. The Republican Study Committee has explicitly endorsed the Life Begins at Conception Act, which says that the right to life is guaranteed in the US Constitution “at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization,” which would also endanger IVF. So other Republicans claiming they support the treatment at the same time is extremely confusing.

For the record, the RSC is not a fringe group. House Speaker Mike Johnson led the group at one point and he is a co-sponsor of the Life Begins at Conception Act.

Republicans still find themselves lost at sea when it comes to talking about IVF or abortion rights. This gives Democrats an opening even in states where they have not been competitive in a long time. In Florida, the state supreme court allowed for a six-week abortion ban to go into effect — but also allowed for a ballot initiative to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution to move forward. Democrats hope this can help them knock off Senator Rick Scott, who has never lost a race in Florida since he ran for governor but failed to flip a single seat as National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman last cycle, largely in response to Dobbs.

Scott, a self-funded businessman and an ally of Trump, announced a seven-figure ad buy talking about his support for IVF and the fact his daughter is undergoing IVF treatments.

The ad announcement came after he voted against the legislation to protect IVF on Thursday.

Senator runs campaign ad about his daughter’s IVF — 24 hours after voting against it

SHAMELESS

Eric Garcia
Fri, June 14, 2024 

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) has touted his support for IVF despite voting against legislation that would have protected access to it. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

A Republican Senator has spent seven figures on a campaign ad touting his support for in vitro fertilization — despite the fact that on Thursday, he voted against legislation that would have protected access to treatments.

Senator Rick Scott of Florida is running for re-election in Florida. He faces a somewhat competitive race against former Democratic congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.

On Friday, he announced an ad touting his support and his personal connection to IVF. In the ad, he notes how he is a grandfather of seven grandchildren.

“But sometimes families need help,” he said. “Millions of babies have come into this world through IVF, in vitro fertilization. In fact, our youngest daughter is receiving IVF treatments right now hoping to expand her family.”

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.

Watch my latest campaign ad👇 pic.twitter.com/UEf5ByrFeo

— Rick Scott (@ScottforFlorida) June 14, 2024

The ad is the Scott campaign’s second as part of a seven-figure statewide ad buy, according to the Scott campaign.

But Scott, along with almost every other Republican voted to block the passage of the Right to IVF Act, Democrats’ legislation to protect access to the fertility procedure. Only two Republican senators — Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — joined the Democrats to vote on the bill.

Scott and the 48 other Republican senators signed a letter saying they supported IVF and criticized Democrats, who they said are fearmongering about IVF.

“Senate Democrats have embraced the Summer of Scare Tactics — a partisan campaign of false fearmongering to mislead and confuse the American people,” the letter read. “In vitro fertilization is legal and available in every state across our nation. We strongly support continued nationwide access to IVF, which has allowed millions of aspiring parents to start and grow their families.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has staged a series of votes on legislation on everything from protecting access to contraception to access to IVF. Scott told The Independent last week that Schumer did so for campaign purposes and that his efforts at legislation “have no chance of passing”.

Senators Katie Britt of Alabama and Ted Cruz of Texas had proposed their own legislation on IVF, which Democrats opposed as insufficient.

“I think what you see is Democrats continuing to fearmonger on this very issue,” Britt told The Independent.

The vote comes after Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are classified as children, which led to three of the largest IVF centers in the state pausing coverage. This was seen as a result of the overturn of Roe v Wade. The end of federal abortion rights led many to worry that access to contraception and to fertility treatments could be impacted, as they have been in Alabama.

Katie Hawkinson contributed to reporting



Couples ask judge to find Alabama law that provides legal immunity to IVF providers unconstitutional

Associated Press
Fri, June 14, 2024

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Couples whose lawsuits against fertility providers led an Alabama court to rule that frozen embryos could be considered children have asked a judge to toss out a new state law that provides legal immunity to in vitro fertilization providers.

The couples asked the judge to declare that the law — which was hastily approved by state lawmakers to protect IVF services in the state — as unconstitutional. It is the latest development in the legal saga that drew international attention and sparked concerns over the availability of IVF.

Three couples had filed wrongful death lawsuits against a fertility clinic and hospital over the accidental destruction of their frozen embryos when someone opened the storage container. The Alabama Supreme Court in February ruled the the couples could pursue lawsuits for the death of their “extrauterine children." That led three large fertility clinics to cease services because of liability concerns raised by the ruling treating the embryos the same as a child or gestating fetus under the wrongful death statute. Facing public pressure to get IVF services restarted in the state, lawmakers approved lawsuit protections for clinics. Clinics reopened soon after its approval.

The new statute, which took effect immediately, shields providers from prosecution and civil lawsuits “for the damage to or death of an embryo” during IVF services. Civil lawsuits could be pursued against manufacturers of IVF-related goods, such as the nutrient-rich solutions used to grow embryos, but damages would be capped to “the price paid for the impacted in vitro cycle.”

The couples asked the judge to declare the new immunity law unconstitutional. They said it violates the Alabama Constitution which says it is state policy to recognize the “rights of unborn children, including the right to life." They also argued the new law violates their due process and equal protection rights.

“Bottom line: IVF healthcare professionals should bear liability for medical negligence under the Alabama Medical Liability Act just like all other healthcare professionals," lawyers for two of the couples wrote in a motion filed Monday.

The defendants in the case have cited the new law in arguing the lawsuits should be dismissed. A judge has yet to rule on the requests. Any decision in the case is likely to be appealed back to the state Supreme Court.

The Alabama case continues to unfold amid a national debate over IVF.

Democrats in Congress, attempting to draw an election-year contrast with Republicans, have championed legislation to guarantee access to in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments. Southern Baptist delegates this week expressed alarm over the way in vitro fertilization is routinely being practiced, saying it often results in the “destruction of embryonic human life.”

The Republican-controlled Alabama Legislature sidestepped proposals that would address the legal status of embryos created in IVF labs. Some state Democrats argued that action would be needed to permanently settle the issue.