Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his party are trying to contain the fallout from a conservative Alabama court ruling that forced some state providers to halt in vitro fertilization treatments, while Democrats grabbed on the outcome as further evidence that reproductive rights are under attack, news agency Reuters reported. The Republican-controlled Alabama Supreme Court ruled on February 16 that frozen embryos should be deemed children, a move that experts believe might encourage other states to follow suit.
With Republicans already on defensive on abortion rights ahead of this year's election, they hastened on Friday to restrict the impact of the court's decision.
In a statement released on Friday, Trump urged the Alabama legislators to find an expedient solution to ensure the availability of IVF procedures in the state. In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated: "I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby," Reuters reported.
Democrats, however, were hoping to capitalize on the Alabama decision. US Senator Elizabeth Warren, a 2020 Democratic presidential contender, while speaking with CNN on Friday stated that "abortion and IVF are going to be on the ballot in November."
President Joe Biden and the White House have slammed the Alabama judgment, with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stating on Friday that "IVF is under attack" and urging Congress to provide legislation.
According to a White House source, the White House has no legal recourse to appeal the Alabama verdict through executive directives. "The only option is to continue raising the issue, making it a political fight and using the bully pulpit to get more attention," the source was quoted as saying by Reuters in its report.
Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups like Concerned Women for America applauded the decision. Some Republicans, however, have expressed concern that IVF and other reproductive procedures are pro-family and should not be thrown in with abortions.
Republican governors, like Brian Kemp of Georgia, who enacted a law in 2019 limiting abortions in the state to six weeks, have expressed support for IVF procedures.
Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley, a staunch abortion opponent, created uncertainty regarding her views on the Alabama verdict, originally claiming she supported but subsequently stating that she does not want to limit fertility options.
"We don't want fertility treatments to shut down," she said on Thursday.