Ohio GOP Senate candidates distance themselves from Alabama court ruling on IVF

Ohio's GOP U.S. Senate candidates are touting their support of in vitro fertilization as Republicans scramble to address an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that raised questions about IVF's future.

The court decided last week that embryos created through IVF are legally-protected children. Advocates for reproductive health care blasted the move, which prompted Alabama's largest hospital to pause IVF treatments until it can assess the legal implications.

Businessman Bernie Moreno, Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, issued statements on Friday calling IVF a "vital tool" and "blessing" for families struggling with infertility. The comments came shortly after the National Republican Senatorial Committee urged candidates to clarify their positions.

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Former President Donald Trump also spoke out and called on Alabama lawmakers to reverse the court's decision.

"When responding to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling, it is imperative that our candidates align with the public's overwhelming support for IVF and fertility treatments," stated a memo from the NRSC, which warned that Democrats could use the decision as a campaign issue.

Moreno said he backs "anything that promotes people having more babies and strong families." Dolan said “society needs more loving and stable families, not less." And LaRose said expanding access to IVF and other fertility treatments is essential to "nurture families and support family formation."

But all three of them opposed Ohio's new abortion rights amendment passed by voters in November, which also protects access to fertility treatment.

"Women should have the ability and right to have a family on their own terms and that includes having access to fertility treatments like IVF," Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said in a statement. "Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose and Matt Dolan have already made their position on this issue clear: they opposed Issue 1 and now want to overrule the majority of Ohioans who supported it − no memo from Mitch McConnell can change that."

The winner of the March 19 GOP primary will take on Brown in November.

How abortion, IVF affects 2024 Ohio Senate race

The ruling in Alabama underscored the challenges Republicans face on reproductive health after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Party leaders have wrangled with how to discuss abortion on the campaign trail following losses at the ballot box, including in Ohio.

At the same time, Moreno, LaRose and Dolan have said they would support a national abortion ban, although the details vary.

IVF is a process by which eggs are harvested, fertilized and implanted to help people become pregnant. Fertility treatments including IVF account for about 2% of births each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

After the Dobbs decision in June 2022, advocates and medical providers worried fertility treatment could be the next target for anti-abortion activists. Clinics may discard unused embryos if the couple doesn't choose to keep or donate them, which is central to the Catholic Church's opposition to IVF. The Alabama case stemmed from a wrongful death lawsuit over frozen embryos that were accidentally destroyed.

"We believe that each human being, from the moment of conception, is made in the image of God, created by Him to reflect His likeness," Alabama Chief Justice Tom Parker wrote in his opinion.

Moreno and LaRose have also said they believe life begins at conception. Both of their campaigns declined to answer questions about how that aligns with their views on IVF.

"It's clear that the mainstream media has gotten their talking points from their bosses at the Sherrod Brown campaign, who they never seem to call out over his flip flops on taxpayer funded late term abortion," Moreno spokeswoman Reagan McCarthy said. "Bernie believes we can protect life and encourage people who struggle with infertility to have more babies at the same time."

Brown supported Roe v. Wade and the Ohio amendment, which use fetal viability to set the legal boundary for abortion. Both policies allow restrictions after viability − typically around 24 weeks − unless an abortion is necessary to protect the pregnant person's life or health.

In Ohio, 0.6% of abortions performed in 2022 occurred at 21 weeks or later, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

USA TODAY contributed to this report.

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Senate race 2024: Republicans tout IVF after Alabama court ruling