Donald Trump, speaking in front of an all-female audience Tuesday at a town hall event in Georgia, declared that he is "the father of IVF." The former president told Fox News moderator Harris Faulkner that Republicans "really are the party for IVF," AL.com reports. "We want fertilization, and it's all the way, and the Democrats tried to attack us on it, and we're out there on IVF, even more than them." He said that he had asked Republican Sen. Katie Britt to explain the fertility procedure to him after Alabama's top court ruled that frozen embryos are children, reports NBC News. "I said explain IVF very quickly, and within about two minutes, I understood it," Trump said. "I said, no, no, we're totally in favor of IVF."
Asked to explain the "father of IVF remark," campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said it was "a joke President Trump made in jest when he was enthusiastically answering a question about IVF," the New York Times reports. Trump has said he will make IVF free if elected, though the Times reports that Leavitt declined to answer when asked if Trump supports bills to protect the legality of IVF that have been blocked by congressional Republicans. The town hall, which was taped on Tuesday and aired on Wednesday, focused on women's issues. CNN reports that Trump criticized some states for bringing in abortion restrictions that he considers "too tough" and said some abortion laws will be "redone," though he did not offer specifics.
- Asked about Trump's remarks on IVF Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris said they were "bizarre," the Hill reports. In a post on X Tuesday, she said: "Donald Trump called himself 'the father of IVF.' What is he talking about? His abortion bans have already jeopardized access to it in states across the country—and his own platform could end IVF altogether."
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