“IVF Will Be Central Because It’s Central to People’s Lives.” Democratic Governors Protect Access to IVF in Their States

“IVF Will Be Central Because It’s Central to People’s Lives.”Democratic Governors Protect Access to IVF in Their States

Politico: “Democratic governors say they’ve made their states refuges for in-vitro fertilization treatments — in much the same way blue states did for abortion in a post-Dobbs America.” 

A new report from Politico highlights the ways Democratic governors have worked to protect access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) – before and after the Alabama Supreme Court decision – continuing their efforts to protect Americans’ reproductive freedom in a post-Dobbs world. As Politico reported, “Democratically controlled states California, Illinois and Massachusetts passed laws last year that protect IVF providers,” and that “with Congress unable to move national legislation to protect IVF, Democratic governors see the patchwork of state laws as a way to ensure access.”

The report also highlights the significance of the DGA’s Power to Appoint fund, “which is focused on helping elect Democratic governors who can be in position to appoint in the event there is a judicial vacancy,” noting that, “since the fall of Dobbs, matters of reproductive rights are largely decided at the state level — with state supreme courts becoming the ultimate arbiter of what is legal.”

Read key quotes from Politico below, and find the full story here.

• “‘We all either have a friend, relative or we ourselves and our families have used IVF in order to try to have a family. And so we understand that there’s a right that needs to be protected,’ Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in an interview. ‘And, frankly, it’s shocking that they’re coming after this right…Republicans don’t understand the storm that is coming,’ he said.”
• “New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in an interview it may not be so easy for Republicans to quell the sudden fervor over IVF, saying they are ‘really running scared on this issue.’ She added that she’s ‘pointing out’ the distinction between the two parties’ views on IVF.”
• “Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota told POLITICO that the issue hits home for him, as his son and daughter were both conceived with the help of fertility treatments… ‘IVF will be central because it’s central to people’s lives,’ he said.”
• “Walz said he saw IVF as an issue with an obvious advantage for Democrats. There is already polling to back him up. A Navigator research report found that 3 in 5 Americans (or 62 percent) say access to fertility planning such as IVF should be easier to access; 45 percent said it should be ‘much’ easier to access. Just 7 percent think access to IVF should be more difficult.”
• “Democrats feel particularly optimistic about the governor’s race in North Carolina, where the Republican nominee, Mark Robinson, has compared abortion to murder in the past. But, underscoring how complex of an issue IVF is for Republicans, even he wouldn’t answer a question about the Alabama ruling.”
• “Walz said this tension will keep Republicans trying to walk a fine line on IVF. ‘Their problem is they know that this is such a damaging issue, but for their base, they can’t say it,’ he said.”
• “‘What’s happening in Alabama right now is only possible because Donald Trump’s Supreme Court justices voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, laying the groundwork for further erosion of our reproductive freedom,’ [Whitmer] said in a statement. ‘The idea of taking IVF and reproductive freedom away from loving families is a huge concern. People don’t want politicians making these decisions for women.’”
• “Margie Omero, a principal at the Democratic polling firm GBAO, said it’s no surprise that Democratic governors are trying to lean into IVF as a campaign issue. ‘You can tell Republicans are worried about this by how quickly they all tried to pretend they have a pro-IVF position,’ she said. ‘On top of that, Republicans support an unpopular national abortion ban.’”

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