PHOENIX — Democrats are seeking to make in-vitro fertilization an election issue, with Vice President Kamala Harris declaring during the debate that “under Donald Trump’s abortion bans, couples who pray and dream of having a family are being denied IVF treatments.” But Republican candidates across the crucial swing states almost unanimously back IVF availability — with the former president even making taxpayer-paid treatments part of his platform.
The Senate failed to move forward a bill federally protecting IVF this week, 51-44 with 60 votes needed. It failed to move before, as Republicans disagree with some of its provisions — but Dems put it up to a vote again so they could make it an election issue.
Democrats themselves earlier blocked GOP Sens. Ted Cruz and Katie Britt’s legislation, the IVF Protection Act, which Britt said would protect “IVF access AND religious liberty for all.”
But there’s essentially uniform agreement from Republicans in numerous races coast to coast that IVF access should be protected, with few people within the party calling for restrictions on the procedure.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee encouraged its candidates to come out in support of IVF-protection policies in February, Axios reported.
Rules around the fertility treatment gained national attention this year after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that put the practice in jeopardy, which led Republican Gov. Kay Ivey to sign legislation shielding IVF providers. In Congress, Rep. Matt Rosendale, (R-Mont.), pushed against funding IVF at the Department of Defense, leading to broader concerns about the procedure’s federal future.
As concerns around protecting IVF catapult to the national stage, The Post spoke with swing-state Republicans in competitive races to set the record straight on their positions.
Ohio
Republican Bernie Moreno, who’s in a tight race against Sen. Sherrod Brown, defended women’s ability to access the procedure.
“My goal is to promote a culture of life. IVF is a vital tool for families that struggle with infertility,” Moreno’s campaign told The Post.
“We have a crisis in this country of people not having enough kids at replacement levels. I’m in favor of anything that promotes people having more babies and strong families.”
Virginia
Virginia’s GOP Senate nominee, Hung Cao, tweeted in late June, “IVF helps build and grow families,” in response to Rosendale’s proposal to prevent Pentagon funding for IVF treatments. “As a 25-year Navy combat veteran whose children are the result of fertility treatments, let me be the first to say: this is a really stupid idea,” Cao added.
Nevada
Republican Mark Robertson, who’s making his second bid for Nevada’s 1st Congressional District seat, told The Post he is “a complete supporter of IVF.”
“We’ve had members of our family that had fertility issues, and we support anything that allows a mom and a dad who want to have children to be able to have children,” he said In a telephone interview.
Robertson, who enlisted in the Army at age 17 and retired as a colonel, said he would “look closely” at any proposal for the federal government to fund IVF because the nation’s $35 trillion debt “is going to be a bigger burden on these babies that are born through IVF or any other means, and we’ve got to start reducing that debt.”
Drew Johnson, the Republican running in the Silver State’s 3rd Congressional District, said he would “oppose any efforts by either party to restrict access to IVF.”
Senate nominee Sam Brown called IVF a “blessing.”
“Amy and I believe we should do more to promote loving families and help people experience the joys of parenthood. IVF and other similar fertility treatments are a blessing for so many families seeking that joy and we should ensure they remain accessible for them,” Brown told The Post.
Wisconsin
Rep. Derrick Van Orden is in for the fight of his life to keep his seat in the Badger State’s 3rd District and told The Post he backs the former president’s policy.
“The Republican Party is the party of the family,” Van Orden said after a Trump town hall last week when asked how the ex-prez’s just-released IVF plan would affect the race in Wisconsin.
“Do I have all the answers about IVF? ‘Cause you do have a bunch of fertilized embryos. Honestly, I don’t have the answer to the disposition of that,” Van Orden added. “If people want to have children, they should be able to use this technology. So I fully support it.”
Bryan Steil, a two-term congressman from Wisconsin, hedged on supporting Trump’s free-IVF policy but told The Post he supports the treatment’s availability.
“I support looking at ways to lower the cost of IVF for families. I’ve cosponsored legislation that looks at how we can use Health Savings Accounts as it relates to IVF,” Steil said when asked whether he supports Donald Trump’s free IVF policy.
“As a conservative, I support families and IVF is a way for many couples to be able to have a family. And sometimes it’s the only way. [That is] one of the key reasons we support IVF.”
In the Senate race, challenger Eric Hovde’s campaign explained his stance on the issue.
“Eric Hovde supports nationwide access to in vitro fertilization, which has allowed thousands of Wisconsinites to start and grow their families,” Hovde spokesman Zach Bannon told The Post.
California
Republican Scott Baugh is running in a tight race for California’s 47th Congressional District left open by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, and voiced his opposition to a federal abortion ban and his support for IVF in a statement to The Post.
“I want to be clear that I oppose a federal ban on abortion and look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans in Congress to support access to IVF. We don’t have to agree on everything to find common ground and make progress on important issues,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rep. Michelle Steel in California’s 45th Congressional District told previously told The Post that she herself has used IVF in the past.
“I went through IVF, it took me six years to have two beautiful children. So I’m so grateful for that. So we should not ban IVF, we really need it. That’s the way I built my family,” she said.
Arizona
Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake tweeted in February that the she “will advocate for increased access to fertility treatment for women struggling to get pregnant.”
“IVF is extremely important for helping countless families experience the joy of parenthood. I oppose restrictions,” she continued.
GOP Rep. David Schweikert, facing a challenge from Democrat Amish Shah this cycle, put out a similar post discussing his own family’s fertility struggles.
“My wife and I struggled for years to have children. Today, we are blessed to have two beautiful children. IVF is a valuable and important tool for many Arizona families. I will oppose any effort to restrict it,” he said.
What Democrats are saying
The Democrats are not buying the candidate’s stances on IVF as authentic. In a Harris campaign press call on Tuesday, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who sponsored the Democrats’ “Right to IVF” bill, blasted Republicans for what she says is endangering the practice.
“In the nearly two years since that horrific Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe, American families have lived in the consequences of this anti-freedom crusade that puts IVF at risk for millions of Americans. States like Alabama have seen clinics shut down and women forced to ship their embryos out of state because of what Donald Trump did,” Duckworth said on the call.
“So I’m not going to sit quietly while Donald Trump and J.D. Vance run on a platform that would threaten access to IVF, because every American deserves a right to be called mommy or daddy without being treated like a criminal. Families in Ohio deserve better. Families across this country deserve better,” she added.
Additional reporting by Victoria Churchill, Joe Durbin, Mark Kellner and Amy Sikma.
