Donald Trump called himself the “father of IVF” at a town hall event with women on Tuesday where his nonsense on abortion was scrutinized.
Trump has flipped the issue as he tries to appease evangelical Republicans and keep female voters on side on the vexed issue of reproductive health.
“We are truly the party for IVF,” Trump told Fox News host Harris Faulkner in a preview clip from the town hall.
“We want conception, and it’s totally, and the Democrats tried to attack us on it, and we’re out there on IVF, even more than they are. So we are fully in favor of it.’
He also declared ominously about himself: ‘I am the father of IVF.’
Donald Trump branded himself the “father of IVF” Tuesday during a town hall event with women where his views on abortion were scrutinized
Trump provided no further explanation as to what that meant, as he had nothing to do with the development of the procedure, and his words were ridiculed.
His rival in the 2024 presidential race seized on the comments.
“Donald Trump called himself ‘the father of IVF,’” Vice President Kamala Harris said.
‘What is he talking about? His abortion bans have already threatened access to them in states across the country — and his own platform could end IVF altogether.”
And Republican strategists were baffled by his response, pointing out that it could alienate elements of his base.
“I wonder if Trump saying he is the ‘father of IVF’ and sounding such a pro-IVF tone will further alienate pro-life Catholics in particular,” Liz Mair asked.
“He keeps saying things that give strongly pro-life people less and less reason to vote for him.”
Some Catholics avoid this practice because of the Church’s teaching that it is immoral.
The crowd was largely made up of supporters in Cumming, Georgia, a swing state
Reporters watch as Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, speaks during a Fox News town hall with Harris Faulkner at The Reid Barn, Tuesday, October 15, 2024
The ruling in Alabama opened up a whole new field of debate about reproductive rights
A ruling in Alabama earlier this year declaring frozen embryos “children” became a flashpoint in discussions about reproductive rights.
The state Supreme Court declared that anyone who destroys them could be liable for wrongful death.
The Republican-controlled Legislature rushed to pass a bill that would give health care providers and parents immunity, but not before chasing doctors out of the state and providing ammunition to Democrats who say conservatives can’t be trusted on this issue are.
Trump’s alternative to setting his own policy on abortion, and the point at which life begins, was to say it was an issue for states to decide.
Yet he also used the town hall to say some states had gone too far and were “too strict” in restricting abortions. He promised that the regulations would be revised in some way, without providing further details.
A member of the audience, Pamela, asked the former president, “Why is the government concerned with women’s basic rights?”
And Trump returned to his stock response, claiming that “every legal scholar” said it was right to send the issue back to the United States.
The town hall was filmed on Tuesday evening and broadcast on Wednesday.