Oxon Hill, Maryland — Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., told Semafor that the justices’ decision to halt the use of in vitro fertilization was “one hundred percent” correct and he supported the state Supreme Court’s judgment that fertilized embryos are children.
Before giving a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Tuberville said to Semafor, “We’re talking about life, and when it comes to anything to do with life, we’ve got to protect it.”
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last week that the state’s Wrongful Death Act was broken by the unintentional destruction of fertilized embryos. Tuberville stated, “You never would really think about that kind of situation, but when you start hearing about it, you kind of have to stop and think.” That is not possible.
States should make the decision on IVF, according to Tuberville, who spearheaded a months-long blockage of military candidates in an effort to overturn a Biden administration abortion policy. He did not see a clear federal policy answer to the issue. When asked how the ruling was affecting women who had started IVF treatments in Alabama, he backed down.
Tuberville remarked, “I don’t know enough about how that works.” “I just know why a lot of it happens, and it’s unfortunate.”
That is consistent with Trump’s handling of abortion-related issues during the first presidential race following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. He has made hazy public promises that he will devise a popular stance, but he has hinted in private that he might support a 16-week limit, as reported by the New York Times. However, he hasn’t talked about the Alabama issue, and he wasn’t questioned about it in the one interview he’s had since the ruling on February 16—a Fox News town hall in South Carolina.
For the anti-abortion movement, outlawing a commonly used fertility treatment is a complex matter that is rarely discussed or given priority in political campaigns. A house is one of the few places where Republicans publicly support the logic of the Alabama court.
Matt Berg of Politico summarizes Republican governors’ responses to the Alabama ruling when they convened in Washington, D.C. on Thursday for media interviews. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp stated, “There are a lot of people out there in this country that they wouldn’t have children if it weren’t for that.”
Few Republicans have taken a stand on the Alabama ruling, which ruled that frequently abandoned embryos had a right to life and referenced the Old Testament in support of that finding. The Trump campaign remained silent on Wednesday when Nikki Haley told NBC News that she supported the decision, saying, “Embryos, to me, are babies.”
