Trump urges IVF protection in Alabama after embryo ruling stokes panic

Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks during the 2024 NRB International Christian Media Convention Presidential Forum at The Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center on February 22, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. Jon Cherry | Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump on Friday urged Alabama's legislature to preserve the availability of in vitro fertilization in the state, one week after a court ruling that prompted multiple IVF clinics to pause their services.

“Today, I am calling on the Alabama Legislature to act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder!”

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last Friday that “unborn children” are included in a state law allowing for wrongful death lawsuits by the parents of deceased children. The case centered around embryos created through IVF that had been accidentally destroyed.

Trump's post followed waves of criticism from President Joe Biden and other Democrats, who say the Republican ex-president's involvement in canceling longstanding abortion rights laid the foundation for the Alabama ruling.

The judicial order cited the state's obligation to “ensure the protection of the rights of the unborn child in all manners and measures lawful and appropriate,” enshrined in Alabama's Constitution.

At least three IVF clinics in the state paused their fertility treatments following the ruling, out of concern about their legal exposure.

IVF is the most popular form of assisted reproduction in America. In 2021, more than 230,000 patients underwent an IVF treatment, and more than than 90,000 babies were born using assisted reproduction, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As Trump and Biden gear up for a likely presidential rematch, Democrats aim to convert outrage over the fall of Roe v. Wade into a winning campaign message. Democrats have outperformed in multiple election cycles following the Supreme Court's June 2022 ruling.

“What is happening in Alabama right now is only possible because Donald Trump's Supreme Court justices overturned Roe v. Wade,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement Thursday.

The 2022 ruling has also rankled some Republican politicians, who oppose abortion but have struggled to mount a political response on an issue where most Americans say the procedure should be legal to at least some degree.

Democrats accuse Republicans of seeking to further erode abortion access and threaten related rights, pointing to the Alabama ruling as evidence.

They have also sounded alarms about reporting last week from The New York Times that Trump is privately leaning in favor of backing a national abortion ban after 16 weeks of pregnancy.

Trump's statement Friday said, “Under my leadership, the Republican Party will always support the creation of strong, thriving, healthy American families.”

“That includes supporting the availability of fertility treatments like IVF in every State in America. 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.

“The Republican Party should always be on the side of the Miracle of Life – and the side of Mothers, Fathers, and their Beautiful Babies. IVF is an important part of that, and our Great Republican Party will always be with you, in your quest, for the ULTIMATE JOY IN LIFE!”