Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday that he does not believe Congress has a role to play when it comes to IVF legislation, as some members within the House Republican Conference have been pushing for in the wake of the controversial Alabama Supreme Court ruling.
“It’s not my belief that Congress needs to play a role here,” the Louisiana Republican told reporters at the annual Republican issues conference held at The Greenbrier, a resort in West Virginia. “I think this is being handled by the states.”
Johnson insisted his party supports access to IVF and said it is “something we ought to protect and preserve” but that it needs to be done “ethically and well.”
House Republicans will also hear from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser on a “pro-family agenda” at the retreat later Thursday in West Virginia as their party struggles on abortion messaging.
In a remarkable split screen illustrating how the parties are handling the issue heading into November, Vice President Kamala Harris will visit a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota also later Thursday, marking a significant and high-level visit to an abortion provider where she is expected to walk through the facility and speak with staff about reproductive rights.
Johnson is under pressure by some in his conference to do something to show support at least symbolically for access to IVF, following the ruling of the Alabama Supreme Court last month that frozen embryos are human beings and those who destroy them can be held liable for wrongful death. Three of the state’s limited pool of IVF providers immediately paused services, sending some families out of state to access treatment. Providers in Alabama have since resumed some in vitro fertilization services following the signing of a new law, but the…
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