Donald Trump branded himself the “father of IVF” during an event with women where his change of heart on the popular fertility treatment and abortion came under intense scrutiny.
Trump has changed the topic of in vitro fertilization (IVF) several times as he tries to placate evangelical Republicans and keep female voters on his side on the sensitive issue of reproductive health.
“We really are the pro-IVF party,” Trump told Fox News host Harris Faulkner in a preview clip of the town hall on Tuesday.
‘We want fertilization, and it is all the way, and the Democrats tried to attack us for it, and we’re out there with IVF, even more so than they are. So we are totally in favor.”
He also strangely declared about himself: “I am the father of IVF.”
Donald Trump called himself the “father of IVF” during an event with women on Tuesday where his change of heart on abortion came under intense scrutiny.
Trump offered no further explanation of what that meant, given that it had nothing to do with the conduct of the procedure, and his words were met with ridicule.
His rival in the 2024 presidential race seized on the comments.
‘Donald Trump called himself ‘the father of IVF,’ Vice President Kamala Harris posted.
‘What are you talking about? His abortion bans have already jeopardized access to it in states across the country, and his own platform could end IVF entirely.’
And Republican strategists were taken aback by his response, noting that it could alienate elements of his base.
“I wonder if Trump’s claim to be the ‘father of IVF’ and his very pro-IVF tone is going to alienate pro-life Catholics even further, especially,” Liz Mair asked.
“He keeps saying things that give strongly pro-life people less and less reason to bother voting for him.”
Some Catholics avoid the practice because of Church teachings that it is immoral.
The audience was largely made up of supporters from Cumming, Georgia, a swing state.
Reporters watch as former President Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate, speaks during a Fox News town hall with Harris Faulkner at The Reid Barn, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024.
The ruling in Alabama opened a whole new field of debate on reproductive rights
A ruling in Alabama earlier this year declaring frozen embryos “children” became a flashpoint in discussions over reproductive rights.
The state supreme court declared that anyone who destroyed them could be liable for wrongful death.
The Republican-controlled legislature rushed through a bill granting immunity to providers and parents, but not before scaring out-of-state doctors and providing ammunition to Democrats who say doctors can’t be trusted. conservatives on this issue.
Trump’s alternative to setting his own policy on abortion and the point at which life begins has been to say it was a question for states to decide.
However, he also used the town hall to say that some states had gone too far and were “too harsh” in restricting abortions. He promised that the regulations would be remade in some way, without giving further details.
An audience member, Pamela, asked the former president: “Why is the government involved in women’s basic rights?”
And Trump returned to his usual response, claiming that “all the jurists” said it was right to send the issue back to the states.
The town hall was filmed Tuesday afternoon and broadcast Wednesday.