A number of congressional Republicans running in 2024 are swiftly distancing themselves from a controversial Alabama Supreme Court ruling seen as infringing on IVF, the latest obstacle for GOP candidates in the post-Roe era.
From House to Senate races, new candidates and incumbents alike are aggressively trying to neutralize Democratic attacks that the decision in Alabama is just the latest in attempts by the GOP to crack down on reproductive rights and the party is encouraging members to get ahead of the issue.
“As someone who struggled to get pregnant, I believe all life is a gift. IVF allowed me, as it has so many others, to start my family,” California Republican Rep. Michelle Steel, who represents a district carried by Biden, said on X. “I believe there is nothing more pro-life than helping families have children, and I do not support federal restrictions on IVF.”
Republican Rep. Don Bacon, who is also running in a swing district in Nebraska, said, “I want to give those who want to be moms and dads that opportunity. Therefore, I will not support restrictions to IVF.”
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled earlier this month frozen embryos are children and those who destroy them can be held liable for wrongful death, a move that prompted several fertility clinics in the state to pause IVF treatments. Democrats swiftly seized on the decision as further proof of how Republicans’ decadeslong push to overturn Roe v. Wade is having reverberating effects in the states.
On the campaign trail though, the National Republican Congressional Committee is trying to help candidates navigate what is emerging as a tricky political moment. And the National Republican Senatorial Campaign communications director Mike Berg told CNN in a statement, “There is not a single Republican Senate candidate in the entire…
Read the full article here