GOP lawmaker moves to 'protect IVF' after Alabama Supreme Court declares embryos are children

United States Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, is planning on announcing legislation that would "protect" in-vitro fertilization, Axios reported Thursday.

Mace told the news outlet, "We should do everything we can to protect IVF for women everywhere."

"We are currently drafting a resolution to express our sentiment and then looking at legislative options," she added.

Mace's pending legislative action is in response to a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that declared frozen embryos have the same rights as "unborn children," Blaze News previously reported.

The court's ruling concerns a lawsuit filed by three couples against the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center and the Center for Reproductive Medicine. The couples accused the clinics of wrongful death, negligence, and breach of contract after a Mobile hospital patient wandered into the area where the couples' frozen embryos were stored, removed them from the freezer, and dropped them on the ground. As a result of the rogue patient's actions, all of the couples' embryos died.

Justice Jay Mitchell and Chief Justice Tom Parker determined that Alabama's Wrongful Death of a Minor Act "applies to all unborn children."

Former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton argued Thursday that the "extreme right" will try to "exert government control" to ban birth control next.

"They came for abortion first," she posted on X. "Now it's IVF and next it'll be birth control."

Despite Clinton's claims, many Republicans have spoken out against the court's ruling and the potential restrictions it could place on IVF treatments.

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) agreed with Mace, telling Axios that the court's ruling "goes too far."

The ruling's restriction would "rob countless Americans of the joys of family life," according to Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-N.Y.).

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told Axios that he also does "not support restrictions on IVF" because he wants to "give those who want to be moms and dads that opportunity."

"I'm troubled by and oppose the ruling," Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) told the news outlet. "I support women and families who choose IVF to bring life into this world. They have my love and respect."

Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) also stood against restrictions on IVF, writing in a post on X, "As someone who struggled to get pregnant, I believe all life is a gift. IVF allowed me, as it has so many others, to start my family. I believe there is nothing more pro-life than helping families have children, and I do not support federal restrictions on IVF."

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) recently told CNN that he believes the Alabama Supreme Court "correctly assessed the law" in its ruling.

"But I believe the Alabama law needs to change because the Republican Party cannot be the party against family formation," Gaetz continued. "People who want to have a family should have the government and the law on their side. And the notion that discarded embryos and IVF somehow turns people who want children and want families and want the American dream into criminals is really wrong."

"Pro-life means being pro-IVF," Gaetz added.

Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville (R) called the situation "a hard one."

"Because again, you really want people to have that opportunity," Tuberville said. "We need more kids."

He then added that he agrees with the court's ruling that embryos are children, the Hill reported.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley also voiced partial support for the court's assessment, stating, "Embryos, to me, are babies."

Haley later clarified her stance, noting, "I didn't say that I agreed with the Alabama ruling. What the question that I was asked is, 'Do I believe an embryo is a baby?'" Haley said. "I do think that if you look in the definition, an embryo is considered an unborn baby. And so, yes, I believe from my stance that that is."

"The difference is — and this is what I say about abortion as well — we need to treat these issues with the utmost respect," Haley added.

The Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the state's largest hospital, announced Wednesday that it is pausing IVF services while it determines whether its patients or staff could face criminal charges or damages. On the same day, Alabama Fertility also announced that it had halted its IVF services.

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