Republicans Suddenly Realize Alabama's IVF Ruling Is Bad For Them

After years of demanding that the law recognize fetuses and embryos as living human beings, Republicans got what they asked for when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that a clinic’s accidental destruction of frozen embryos amounted to the wrongful death of a child.

But within a matter of days, it became apparent that the decision would make it harder for many people to get pregnant. Multiple Alabama clinics, including one at the state’s biggest hospital, announced this week that due to the risk of criminal prosecution over the handling of embryos, they were suspending all in vitro fertilization services.

As it turns out, making it harder to conceive is a losing issue among voters; support for fertility treatments is high across the political spectrum. In a memo circulated among Republicans and obtained by The New York Times and Politico, GOP operative Kellyanne Conway’s consulting firm said it found that a whopping 78% of voters who identify as “pro-life” support greater access to IVF. Polling from Pew Research shows that 60% of Republican women even say health insurance should cover fertility treatments.

Now, Republicans are scrambling to put out the fire without admitting they’re they’re the ones who lit the match.

In the memo, which was sent Friday, the Senate GOP urged its 2024 candidates to go all in on their support for IVF.

“Clearly state your support for IVF and fertility-related services as blessings for those seeking to have children,” and “publicly oppose any efforts to restrict access to IVF and other fertility treatments, framing such opposition as a defense of family values and individual freedom,” National Republican Senatorial Committee executive director Jason Thielman said in the memo.

The NRSC did not