Is Destroying An Embryo Murder? House Speaker Mike Johnson Won’t Say.

WASHINGTON — Is a frozen embryo a child? And is destroying it murder?

On Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wouldn’t say.

“Look, I believe in the sanctity of every human life ― I always have ― and because of that I support IVF,” he said in his weekly press conference when asked about the issue.

Johnson said there are “amazing” statistics about IVF, or in vitro fertilization, adding that the technology has been available since the 1970s and has led to 8 million births in the United States. He said he has “many close friends” who have “beautiful families” now thanks to IVF.

“It needs to be readily available,” he continued. “I don’t think there’s a single person in the Republican conference who disagrees with that statement.”

He never actually answered the question.

IVF is a hot topic on Capitol Hill after this month’s Alabama Supreme Court ruling that a frozen embryo is a child with equal rights under the state’s wrongful death law . The decision was seemingly aimed at curbing more abortion rights, but it has resulted in fertility clinics across the state halting IVF treatments because they don’t want to risk a lawsuit for discarding unused embryos.

IVF is hugely popular, with one recent poll showing more than 80% of respondents in support of fertility-related procedures. A whopping 2% of all babies born in Americaare the result of IVF, and 42% of adults say that they have used fertility treatments like IVF or know someone who has, per a Pew Research Center survey last year.

And herein lies the problem for Johnson and House Republicans: Dozens of them are co-sponsors of legislation to define “human being” to include “all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at