Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) argued Friday that in vitro fertilization (IVF) and abortion are “on the ballot” in November after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are people, leading to multiple health systems in the state to halt their IVF treatments.
“I just want to keep front and center in my heart and my mind the women who are now going through this, and that drives home the urgency once more,” Warren said on CNN’s “Inside Politics.” “Abortion and IVF are going to be on the ballot in November 2024.”
The Feb. 16 Alabama ruling is the first time a court has ever given rights and protections so early after conception. While only limited to the state of Alabama, the ruling has a far-reaching potential and could open the door to more reproductive rights battles nearly two years after the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade was overturned.
CNN’s Dana Bash asked Warren about the muddled response from Republicans to the decision, many of whom she said have struggled “to figure out how to message, how to respond.”
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has asked its candidates to voice support for IVF and publicly oppose any efforts to restrict IVF and fertility treatment access.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) appeared Thursday night on CNN, and he said the ruling “is really wrong.” Warren said Gaetz, along with other Republicans opposing the decision “are right.”
“But what’s he going to do about it? And what is his party planning to do about it? Are they really going to stand up and introduce legislation?” Warren argued in comments highlighted by Mediaite. “If they are, and the Republicans are ready to go, we can change the law right now. But that’s not where they are.”
“They are beholden to this extremist wing of their party, Donald Trump’s enabled them by getting an extremist Supreme Court that overturned Roe vs. Wade and they’ve made it clear that is only the first step in taking over these intimate decisions that women make,” she continued.
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