Tim Walz demonstrates his fierce support for IVF at a rally with touching personal story

At a campaign rally in Philadelphia, vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke to a roaring crowd about his personal experiences with in-vitro fertilization (IVF), a fertility treatment that many Republicans are scrambling to support in fear of losing voters.

“This is very personal for my wife and I,” Walz said, describing his family’s experience with IVF. “When Gwen and I decided to have children, we went through years of fertility treatments. I remember each night praying that the call was going to come and it was going to be good news. The phone would ring, tenseness in my stomach, and then the agony when you heard the treatments hadn’t worked.”

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At rallies held across the country, Walz also emphasized that even if people wouldn’t make the choice for their families, it’s crucial that they mind their own business.

“Even if we wouldn’t make the same choice for ourselves, there’s a golden rule: mind your own damn business. Look, that includes IVF.”

The procedure is often used by same-sex couples who want to build their families, and it is the most common method of assisted reproduction. Because the procedure requires fertilized eggs to be created that likely won’t lead to pregnancies, many on the right oppose the procedure.

Walz is a fierce advocate for reproductive freedom. After Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, he pushed through legislation that mandated Minnesota be a safe state for anyone trying to receive the reproductive health procedure.

His position isn’t unpopular, either. Most Americans, including most Republicans, support access to IVF, according to recent polls. After the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are legally children in February – a ruling that caused several clinics to stop providing IVF treatments – Republicans in the state rushed to pass legislation that protected the right to IVF without addressing the fundamental question of whether frozen embryos are legally children.

But Republican support for IVF is often shakier. GOP vice presidential candidate and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) is one such example. He’s previously voted against a Democrat-backed bill in the Senate that would have protected the right to IVF at the federal level. But he still says that he’s in favor of IVF.

“Republicans have made it clear that they support IVF — the vast majority of Republicans have. There’s no effort to roll back IVF,” Mark Graul, a  Wisconsin GOP strategist, told Politico. “I think it’s part of just the broader strategy to, from the Democratic perspective, put the spotlight on abortion as much as possible, this just being a piece of that puzzle.”

Walz posted his support for IVF on X and said he opposes actions from people like Vance, who have voted against it.

“Even if you’ve never gone through the hell of infertility, someone you know has. When Gwen and I were having trouble getting pregnant, the anxiety and frustration blotted out the sun. JD Vance opposing the miracle of IVF is a direct attack on my family and so many others,” he said.

Even if you’ve never gone through the hell of infertility, someone you know has. When Gwen and I were having trouble getting pregnant, the anxiety and frustration blotted out the sun.

JD Vance opposing the miracle of IVF is a direct attack on my family and so many others. https://t.co/tWhQEPjft2

— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) July 25, 2024

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