Abbott echoes Trump on Alabama IVF ruling

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) echoed former President Trump on the recent ruling on embryos from the Alabama Supreme Court earlier this month, arguing that they should work to make it easier for people to have children.

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are people earlier this month, marking the first time a court has ever given rights and protections that early after conception. Trump called on Alabama to protect access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments in the wake of the ruling Friday.

Abbott echoed Trump’s remarks on CNN’s “State of the Union,” saying that he does not want to make it harder for people to have children.

“There’s some uncertainty lingering from this, but candidly, let’s go to President Trump, because President Trump put out a statement on this that I think a lot of people agree with and that is a goal that we all kind of want to achieve. And that is we want to make it easier for people to be able to have babies — not make it harder,” he said.

“And the IVF process is a way of giving life to even more babies. And so what I think the goal is, is to make sure that we can find a pathway to ensure that parents who otherwise may not have the opportunity to have a child will be able to have access to the IVF process and become parents and give life to babies,” he added.

When asked if Texas will pass legislation dealing with IVF access, Abbott said his state will likely address the issue.

“I have no doubt that Texas will be among the states that will be addressing this issue when we can bring together all the different facts or scenarios about what can happen,” he said. “But also … Texas is a pro-life state, and we want to do everything possible that we can to maintain Texas being a pro-life state.”

“But at the very same time, I think Texans agree with what President Trump said, and that is we as a state want to ensure that we promote life, we bring more life into the world and we empower parents to be able to have more children,” he added.