Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Democrats Blast Alabama IVF Ruling; Republicans Aim To Minimize Election Impact
The Hill: Biden Rips ‘Outrageous And Unacceptable’ Alabama IVF Decision
“Today, in 2024 in America, women are being turned away from emergency rooms and forced to travel hundreds of miles for health care, while doctors fear prosecution for providing an abortion,” Biden said in a statement. “And now, a court in Alabama put access to some fertility treatments at risk for families who are desperately trying to get pregnant. The disregard for women’s ability to make these decisions for themselves and their families is outrageous and unacceptable." (Samuels, 2/22)
The Hill: Harris Slams Alabama IVF Ruling As Hypocritical, ‘Shocking’
Vice President Harris on Thursday bashed the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are people as hypocritical and placed the blame on former President Trump. “Think about that, individuals, couples, who want to start a family are now being deprived of access to what can help them start a family,” she said. “So 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 a right to start a family.” (Gangitano, 2/22)
The Hill: Hillary Clinton Warns Birth Control Is ‘Next’ After Alabama IVF Ruling
Hillary Clinton is warning about the legality of birth control in the wake of a decision by the Alabama Supreme Court that found frozen embryos created through fertility treatments are children under state law. “They came for abortion first. Now it’s [in vitro fertilization], and next it’ll be birth control,” the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee and secretary of State said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. (Suter, 2/22)
AP: Alabama IVF Ruling May Be An Opening For Democrats In 2024
Some Republicans joined Democrats in expressing alarm over a ruling this week by the Alabama Supreme Court that jeopardized future access to in vitro fertilization, giving allies of President Joe Biden new fuel for their efforts to center abortion access in the presidential election. “We’ve got to talk about making sure we don’t take away women’s rights to IVF, women who are childbearing age and want to give birth to children,” said GOP Rep. Nancy Mace, who was campaigning this week for former President Donald Trump in South Carolina. (Fernando, 2/22)
Meanwhile, on Republican struggles with their responses to the news —
Axios: House GOP Rushes To Distance From Alabama IVF Ruling
House Republicans are quickly pushing back on an Alabama Supreme Court ruling restricting access to fertility treatments, with one GOP lawmaker already planning a legislative response, Axios has learned. Why It Matters: Reproductive health care has been the central issue for House Democrats as they try to win back GOP-held suburban swing districts. (Solender, 2/22)
Politico: Top Republicans Defend IVF After Alabama Ruling
Days after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law, leading some hospitals in the state to pause in vitro fertilization treatment, several top Republican governors said they support the procedure. (Berg, 2/22)
The New York Times: Alabama I.V.F. Ruling Opens New Front In Election-Year Abortion Battles
Yet, even as some Republicans backed away from the court decision, Republican legislators in conservative states planned efforts to push bills that would declare that life begins at conception — a policy that could have severe consequences for fertility treatments. (Lerer, Dias and Karni, 2/23)
The Hill: Haley: I Didn’t Say I Agreed With Alabama IVF Ruling
GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she did not endorse the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that said frozen embryos and fertilized eggs should be treated as children under state law. ... “Well, first of all, I didn’t — I mean, this is again, 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.” (Fortinsky, 2/22)
The latest from Alabama —
NPR: Alabama State Lawmakers Plan Bill To Protect IVF After Court Ruling
Six days after Alabama's Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are "children," upending in vitro fertilization treatments, a Republican state senator said he plans to introduce a bill that would protect IVF statewide. State Sen. Tim Melson, who chairs the Senate's Health Care Committee, said the bill would clarify that embryos are not viable unless they are implanted in a uterus. (Capelouto, Gassiott, Scott Hodgin, 2/22)
NBC News: Three Alabama Clinics Pauses IVF After Court Rules Embryos Are Children
The University of Alabama at Birmingham was first to announce the change on Wednesday. Then another practice, Alabama Fertility, posted a statement Thursday on social media saying it would put a hold on IVF treatments. The Center for Reproductive Medicine at Mobile Infirmary — the clinic sued in the court case — said Thursday that it would pause IVF procedures starting Saturday. (Bendix, 2/22)
The Guardian: Doctors Shocked And Angry As Alabama Ruling Throws IVF Care Into Turmoil
Physicians said the decision, which ruled embryos are “extrauterine children”, grossly misunderstood reproductive medicine and was “devastating” for infertile patients. “We made the impossible decision to pause new IVF treatments at our center, which is devastating for our patients and the state,” said Dr Mamie McLean, a fertility specialist at Alabama Fertility, which performed about 700 rounds of IVF in 2023. (Glenza, 2/23)
