GOP Created The IVF Ban - And They Have No Way To Fix It

For five decades, most in the Republican Party opposed the right for women to choose to have an abortion. Why? What was their reasoning? It couldn't be that they didn't believe women should have the same rights as men, since the Constitution guarantees equal rights for all citizens. The only justification they had was the belief that life did not begin at birth, but at conception (which meant the embryo was a child and aborting it was murder). But they didn't think that argument through to its logical conclusion.

Last week, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos were "children". That's because in the process known as in vitro fertilization (IVF) an egg is removed from a women and fertilized with a man's sperm. This means conception has occurred.

This decision (which was correct if one believes in life beginning at conception) has had a chilling effect on IVF, and IVF clinics have stopped operating in Alabama. IVF is not foolproof and doesn't always work the first time. Many embryos are created so a woman can have a better chance at having a real baby born, and the extra embryos are frozen for future use if the first time results in failure.

But not every embryo survives the freezing and thawing process. If the embryo does not survive the process, has a "child" been murdered? Yes, if the Alabama decision is correct. And even if an embryo survives the process, not all will be used. What about the unused ones. If they are disposed of, has a "child" been murdered? Yes, if the Alabama decision is correct. Are the unused embryos to be kept in perpetuity? Wouldn't that be denying "children" the right to be born?

This is now a mess! The decision, based on life beginning at conception, is going to effectively ban IVF procedures in every state that bans abortion. And the Republicans have stated their desire to ban abortion in all 50 states because of their belief that life begins at conception.

Even most Republicans don't want IVF procedures banned. They know it is the only way for many families to have a child or children. 

How are Republicans going to fix this mess? There is no fix if they truly believe life begins at conception. And if they don't, then there is no reason to deny a woman the right to control her own body.

This is not going to play well for them in the coming election. A majority of Americans already support the right to an abortion, and even more support the right to have an IVF procedure.

Donald Trump has been bragging to his followers that he is solely responsible for overturning Roe vs Wade (which led to abortion being banned in many states). He says he's responsible because he chose three anti-abortion Supreme Court justices. That makes him also responsible for banning the IVF procedure in Alabama (and in many other red states in the future).

The Republicans created this mess, and they have no way to fix it.