Former President Trump broke his silence on a controversial Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos created during fertility treatments can be considered children under state law.
“Under my leadership, the Republican Party will always support the creation of strong, thriving, healthy American families,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday. “We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder! That includes supporting the availability of fertility treatments like IVF in every State in America.”
“Like the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of Americans, including the VAST MAJORITY of Republicans, Conservatives, Christians, and Pro-Life Americans, I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby,” Trump continued. “Today, I am calling on the Alabama Legislature to act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama. The Republican Party should always be on the side of the Miracle of Life – and the side of Mothers, Fathers, and their Beautiful Babies. IVF is an important part of that, and our Great Republican Party will always be with you, in your quest, for the ULTIMATE JOY IN LIFE!”
Justices, citing anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution, ruled last week that an 1872 state law allowing parents to sue over the death of a minor child “applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.”
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a caucus night rally in Las Vegas, Thursday, February 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill))
“Unborn children are ‘children’ under the Act, without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics,” Justice Jay Mitchell wrote in the majority ruling.
The decision was in response to two wrongful death cases brought by three couples whose frozen embryos had been destroyed in an accident at an Alabama fertility clinic.
The Supreme Court decision led to a halt in IVF services at some locations and caused a firestorm between pro-life groups and abortion advocates.
CNN and MSNBC both cut away from former President Trump on Thursday. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Pro-life advocacy group Live Action reacted to the decision in a statement.
“Each person, from the tiniest embryo to an elder nearing the end of his life, has incalculable value that deserves and is guaranteed legal protection,” Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action, said in the statement.
President Biden issued a statement that called the Alabama decision a “direct result of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.” And Vice President Kamala Harris, in the middle of her “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour, accused Republicans of hypocrisy.
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President Joe Biden speaks during the annual Tribal Nations Summit at the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, December 6, 2023. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“On the one hand, the proponents are saying that an individual doesn’t have a right to end an unwanted pregnancy and, on the other hand, the individual does not have the right to start a family,” she told an audience in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Fox News Digital’s Melissa Rudy and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
