House Democrats eye Alabama IVF ruling as path to retaking majority in November
Democrats are on the offensive to win back the House majority after Alabama's conservative Supreme Court ruled that embryos are considered children.
House Democrats have found a new political cudgel for the November 2024 elections after the Alabama Supreme Court’s recent ruling triggered a stoppage to IVF treatment around the state.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), House Democrats’ campaign arm, held a press conference on Monday morning to tie House Republicans to the ruling, even as top GOP figures continue to speak out for IVF access and accuse Democrats of twisting the issue.
"House Republicans have furthered this agenda at every turn. They want a national abortion ban, full stop. With their razor-thin majority, they have pushed anti-abortion, anti-freedom policies, including legislation that would double down on the Alabama court's ruling and ban IVF nationwide," DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., told reporters.
It’s a similar playbook to the one Democrats followed after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
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Indeed, DelBene pointed to Democratic victories in states where abortion access was on the ballot and suggested the left would keep that momentum up in the wake of Alabama’s ruling.
"It has proven to be a losing issue for Republicans, whether in New York, Wisconsin, Ohio, Kansas, or dozens of other states across the country, we’ve seen voters head to the ballot box to defend their rights," DelBene said. "And in this election, we're fighting for our rights, our freedoms, our families, and Republicans keep making clear that they're willing to do anything to rip those away."
A cornerstone of House Democrats’ push is the GOP’s Life At Conception Act, which says life starts at the moment of conception and which critics warn could lead to nationwide abortion restrictions. With no mention of IVF, Democrats have argued that the bill’s lack of protections for the procedure could allow for its restriction as well.
But Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., one of the 125 Republicans supporting the bill who is also one of the right’s leading voices on reproductive health access, said the accusation is "a leftist myth."
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"Some people are getting knocked for signing on to the Life of Conception Act, but that act doesn't do anything to ban or prohibit access to IVF. That’s a leftist myth. What it does do is, it says the scientific fact that life begins at conception. That's basic science, most people feel that way," Mace said.
Alabama’s conservative Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that three couples trying in vitro fertilization (IVF) who lost their frozen embryos in an accident at a storage facility in the state are able to sue the medical providers for wrongful death of a child.
Since then, three Alabama medical facilities have stopped providing IVF treatment.
It’s prompted pushback from key national Republicans like Mace, who told Fox News Digital she plans to introduce a resolution to support IVF access on a federal level.
"It’s a lie," Mace said of the left-wing efforts to lump Republicans together on reproductive rights. "I've always believed that life begins at conception, that’s a belief of mine. That doesn't mean I want to ban IVF."
Mace warned fellow Republicans on Monday that IVF could be a "huge issue" and urged them to be "on board" with speaking out in support of the procedure.
She dismissed concerns that it could be an election problem for Republicans, however, pointing to IVF access’ support from high-level Republicans like former President Donald Trump. Trump said at a rally over the weekend that he would "strongly support the availability of IVF."
"I really liked seeing Donald Trump's comments at the rally at Rock Hill on Friday. He’s spot on, 100%. That is where we need to be as a party," Mace said.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also spoke out in favor of IVF access, as have a large share of establishment and moderate Republicans.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) told Fox News Digital, "Republican mothers, grandmothers, and foster parents all looked voters directly in the eyes and said they support IVF access. Democrats are cynically twisting a serious family issue and expecting voters to believe their lies; they're going too far, and it will blow up in their faces."
The NRCC also pointed out that Republicans targeted by the DCCC over the IVF ruling have spoken out in favor of the procedure.