Haley campaign acknowledges ‘uphill battle’, argues Trump would be weaker against Biden – live – The Guardian US
This live blog is now closed. For the latest on Alabama’s IVF ruling, you can read:
Donald Trump says he supports IVF after an Alabama supreme court ruling led several providers in the state to cut off access to the care, which people with fertility issues commonly use to start families.
In a statement on his Truth Social network, the former president also called on Alabama’s Republican-dominated legislature to pass a law to ensure in vitro fertilization is available in the state.
“Like the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of Americans, including the VAST MAJORITY of Republicans, Conservatives, Christians, and Pro-Life Americans, I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby,” Trump wrote. “Today, I am calling on the Alabama Legislature to act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama.”
Here’s more:
The Republican Party should always be on the side of the Miracle of Life – and the side of Mothers, Fathers, and their Beautiful Babies. IVF is an important part of that, and our Great Republican Party will always be with you, in your quest, for the ULTIMATE JOY IN LIFE!
This time tomorrow, Republican voters across South Carolina will be casting ballots in the state’s presidential primary, and all signs point to yet another victory for Donald Trump. Polling shows him with a mammoth lead over his last remaining challenger Nikki Haley, who happens to be the state’s former governor. In a call with reporters today, her campaign manager reiterated that she has no plans to quit, and argued Trump would be a far worse opponent against Joe Biden in the November general election.
Here’s what else happened today:
Trump announced “strong support” for IVF, days after Alabama’s supreme court ruled that embryos used in the procedure are “children” and major providers of the care canceled appointments.
Biden decried Republican House speaker Mike Johnson for not allowing the chamber to vote on new aid to Ukraine while giving lawmakers a two-week break.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee warned its candidates against supporting the Alabama supreme court ruling against IVF.
Even in her home state, Haley faces plenty of skepticism as she presses on with her presidential campaign.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s Democratic leader, squabbled with Republican Lindsey Graham after he criticized Biden for not calling Vladimir Putin a “terrorist”.
Alabama’s attorney general does not plan to prosecute IVF providers after the state supreme court ruled last week that embryos from the care are “children,” NBC News reports.
IVF providers feared the decision by the state’s highest court could open them up to civil and criminal penalties in instances where embryos are destroyed. According to NBC, Katherine Robertson, chief counsel for Alabama’s Republican attorney general Steven Marshall, said she “has no intention of using the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision as a basis for prosecuting IVF families or providers.”
Groups aligned with the Democrats, who have seen their candidates’ fortunes boosted by the supreme court’s overturning of Roe v Wade two years ago, are now looking to tie vulnerable House Republicans to the Alabama supreme court decision restricting IVF care.
“While some House Republicans may pretend to oppose the ruling, their support tells a drastically different story,” reads a memo released this afternoon by the House Majority Pac (HMP), which is dedicated to winning Democrats seats in Congress’s lower chamber.
Republicans control the House by a tiny margin, and Democrats are hoping to seize the majority back in November. In their memo, the House Majority Pac names several Republicans occupying seats representing districts won by Joe Biden or that are otherwise viewed as weak, and notes they cosponsored the Life at Conception Act – which “declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual comes into being.”
“The fact is that ANY vulnerable House Republican who cosponsored the Life at Conception Act supported putting IVF and fertility treatments at risk. HMP can guarantee that their support will be used against them over paid media in competitive House districts across the country this fall,” the memo reads.
Lawmakers in both chambers of Alabama’s legislature have filed bills that would clarify IVF embryos are not children, and clear the way for the resumption of the care in the state.
One proposal was filed by the Democratic minority in Alabama’s house, and another by the Republican chair of the healthcare committee, according to the Alabama Political Reporter.
Here’s more from their report:
Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, chair of the Alabama Senate’s Healthcare Committee, told Alabama Reflector’s Jemma Stephenson on Thursday that he plans to file a bill addressing the situation.
The draft version of Melson’s bill states that “any human egg that is fertilized in vitro shall be considered a potential life but shall not for any purposes be considered a human life … unless and until the fertilized egg is implanted into a woman’s uterus and a viable pregnancy can be medically detected.”
“We all know that conception is a big argument that it’s life,” Melson told Alabama Reflector. “I won’t argue that point, but it’s not going to form into a life until it’s put into the uterus.”
The Alabama House Democrats have filed their own bill, with the bill stating that “any fertilized human egg or embryo existing outside of a human uterus is not considered an unborn child or human being for any purpose under state law.”
The bill differs in that it does not specifically preclude only fertilized eggs and embryos that were fertilized in vitro.
Donald Trump’s statement of support for in vitro fertilization comes as the Republican senatorial arm encourages its candidates to back away from the Alabama supreme court ruling reducing access to the care.
CNN reports that the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is in charge of winning Senate races for the party, said in a memo that it “encourages Republican Senate candidates to clearly and concisely reject efforts by the government to restrict IVF.”:
In new memo obtained by CNN, NRSC instructs its candidates to reject clearly and concisely government attempts to restrict access to IVF pic.twitter.com/kZR5LqRt5p
Several GOP candidates for important Senate seats have since come out in support of the care. Here’s Bernie Moreno, who is challenging Democratic senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio:
My goal is to promote a culture of life. IVF is a vital tool for families that struggle with infertility.
We have a crisis in this country of people not having enough kids at replacement levels.
I’m in favor of anything that promotes people having more babies & strong families. https://t.co/rM7Q73zQK9
And Kari Lake, who is standing for the seat occupied by independent Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona:
One in six Americans struggle with fertility issues.
In the Senate, I will advocate for increased access to fertility treatment for women struggling to get pregnant.
IVF is extremely important for helping countless families experience the joy of parenthood. I oppose… pic.twitter.com/Oqrf18OkHY
Donald Trump says he supports IVF after an Alabama supreme court ruling led several providers in the state to cut off access to the care, which people with fertility issues commonly use to start families.
In a statement on his Truth Social network, the former president also called on Alabama’s Republican-dominated legislature to pass a law to ensure in vitro fertilization is available in the state.
“Like the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of Americans, including the VAST MAJORITY of Republicans, Conservatives, Christians, and Pro-Life Americans, I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby,” Trump wrote. “Today, I am calling on the Alabama Legislature to act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama.”
Here’s more:
The Republican Party should always be on the side of the Miracle of Life – and the side of Mothers, Fathers, and their Beautiful Babies. IVF is an important part of that, and our Great Republican Party will always be with you, in your quest, for the ULTIMATE JOY IN LIFE!
In response to a question on Illinois’ Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth’s latest proposal to federally protect IVF access and whether Joe Biden would sign such legislation, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said:
“I have not seen the legislation. I have not talked to our office of legislative affairs … I’m going to be super careful here…
We believe the best way, honestly, to get this done as it relates to the chaos that has been created, is to get Roe to become law of the land and that’s something Congress can do.”
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer took aim at Lindsey Graham after the South Carolina Republican senator posted a tweet in which he criticized Joe Biden being reluctant to call Vladimir Putin out “for the terrorist he is.”
In his tweet, Graham criticized Biden’s latest sanctions on Russia, saying that they will “fail to deliver the intended results of making Russia a no-go zone.”
In response, Schumer, who is currently visiting Ukraine to offer assurance of US aid provision, said, “And yet, you still voted against helping Ukraine to combat Putin…”
And yet, you still voted against helping Ukraine to combat Putin… https://t.co/c21YkYIDC9
Graham recently opposed the Senate’s $95b defense and aid package to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific. However, he then said on Sunday that he felt “very optimistic” about the House’s $66b proposal that includes foreign aid and border security measures.
Illinois’ Democratic governor JB Pritzker criticized anti-abortion Republicans after Alabama’s supreme court ruled that frozen embryos are “children.”
In a tweet on Friday, Pritzker wrote:
“It has never been clearer that MAGA extremists will not stop at banning abortion. They are coming for contraception. They are coming for IVF. They are coming for women. And they will lose when voters have their say.”
It has never been clearer that MAGA extremists will not stop at banning abortion. They are coming for contraception. They are coming for IVF. They are coming for women. And they will lose when voters have their say. https://t.co/BGnXOjKauP
Earlier this week, Pritzker announced that he is proposing the elimination of medical debt across Illinois and said he intends to “break down bureaucratic barriers in state government” by increasing coordination across agencies to improve reproductive healthcare services.
This time tomorrow, Republican voters across South Carolina will be casting ballots in the state’s presidential primary, and all signs point to yet another victory for Donald Trump. Polling shows him with a mammoth lead over his last remaining challenger Nikki Haley, who happens to be the state’s former governor. In a call with reporters today, her campaign manager reiterated that she has no plans to quit, and argued Trump would be a far worse opponent against Joe Biden in the November general election.
Here’s what else is happening today:
Biden decried Republican House speaker Mike Johnson for not allowing the chamber to vote on new aid to Ukraine while giving lawmakers a two-week break.
Trump appealed to rightwing Christians, saying, “it’s the people from within our country that are more dangerous than the people outside”.
Even in her home state, Haley faces plenty of skepticism as she presses on with her presidential campaign.
Joe Biden is marking the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with a barrage of new sanctions aimed at Moscow’s revenues. Here’s more:
Joe Biden on Friday announced that Washington would issue more than 500 new sanctions targeting Russia as the US seeks to increase pressure on Moscow to mark the second anniversary of its war in Ukraine.
The US will also impose new export restrictions on nearly 100 entities for providing support to Russia, and take action to further reduce Russia’s energy revenues, the president said in a statement.
Biden has said the measures seek to hold Russia to account over the war and the death of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Washington expects to continue to support Ukraine even as that country faces shortages of ammunition and US military aid has been delayed for months in Congress.
“They will ensure Putin pays an even steeper price for his aggression abroad and repression at home,” Biden said of the new sanctions.