House Dems’ campaign arm blasts Republicans over IVF
WASHINGTON – The House Democrats’ campaign arm is going on the offensive against Republicans on in vitro fertilization following the Alabama Supreme Court’s controversial ruling that frozen embryos should be considered children.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is circulating a memo, shared first with USA TODAY, that attacks vulnerable House Republicans for being “all talk, no action” on IVF and promises “to make House Republicans’ blatant disrespect for women and families a defining campaign issue.”
Heading into a crucial election year, Republicans rushed to distance themselves from the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling and quickly voiced their support for the procedure. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner, called on the Alabama legislature to protect IVF. Last week, state lawmakers passed legislation doing so.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said at a standing news conference last week that IVF “needs to be readily available.” He said he could not “think of a single person in the Republican conference who disagrees.”
However, Democrats have seized on the Alabama IVF ruling as part of their broader messaging efforts against Republicans on abortion and reproductive rights as the GOP continues to struggle with the electoral fallout after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in 2022.
The DCCC memo takes aim at a pair of resolutions House GOP lawmakers introduced last week that express support for continued access to IVF and new protections for the procedure.
The memo dismissed those efforts as a “weak partisan stunt” which “does absolutely nothing to protect women and families seeking in vitro fertilization treatment to start or grow their families.” The resolutions, considered non-binding, have no impact on federal law.
In particular, the committee memo singles out swing-district Republicans who signed on to the measures.
One, introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., supports IVF in light of the ruling “that has jeopardized access to in vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technology.” The memo highlights co-sponsors Reps. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., Don Bacon, RNeb., Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., and Jen Kiggans, RVa. All represent districts President Joe Biden won in the 2020 election and are considered to be among the most vulnerable members in the 2024 elections.
The memo also derides a similar, competing non-binding resolution introduced last week by Reps. Michelle Steel, R-Calif., Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., and Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., who are also Republicans representing Biden-won districts.
“These fake moderates are attempting to use resolutions to distract voters from their true goal of policing women’s bodies,” the memo reads. “But the DCCC won’t let them get away with it.”
House Majority PAC, Democrats’ largest super PAC focused on House races, released a memo last month railing against Republicans who signed on to the Life at Conception Act.