Republicans don’t know how to respond to Alabama’s frozen fetus ruling

(CNN) — The court’s decision to bar some Alabama fertility clinics from in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment, Roe v. Shows the struggle of the top Republic navigating a post-overthrow world. Wade.

Candidates, including presidential contender Nikki Haley, are struggling to find coherent responses to last week’s Alabama Supreme Court decision that declared fetuses are children and that those who destroy them can be held liable for wrongful death. Republicans are under pressure from their party’s social conservatives and more moderate voters in what could be crucial in the general election.

Ironically, the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the federal right to abortion nationwide in 2022 represents one of the most spectacular successes in the history of the conservative movement. But for many Americans, the loss of those constitutional protections they’ve taken for granted has provided a huge political opportunity for Democrats and abortion rights advocates.

Led by President Joe Biden, Democrats quickly seized on the Alabama ruling in Roe v. Wade, which abortion rights advocates say has encouraged ultra-conservative judges to issue increasingly radical rulings.

The decision in Alabama, which was accompanied by a concurring opinion by Alabama Chief Justice Tom Parker warning against invoking the “wrath of a holy God,” could open the door to similar actions in other conservative states and widen the division of reproductive rights that increasingly belongs to everyone in the country. Depends on where you live.

This new fight — over deeply personal healthcare decisions and beliefs about when life begins — is inherently political, fueled by anti-abortion activists who have been campaigning publicly on the issue for years.

But the fierce partisan clashes show how the country’s hyper-polarized climate makes it difficult to hold calm debates on issues that, at their most basic level, involve the very nature of humanity. For many anti-abortion activists, a fetus is already life, in fact an unborn child, and has the same rights as children. But an alternative view is that an embryo is a mass of cells that can develop into a baby but has not yet reached that point.

While the Alabama ruling does not ban in vitro fertilization — a procedure by which an egg is combined with sperm outside the ovary — it has an immediate impact on some people who already go through an emotionally draining and expensive process when trying to get pregnant. Three fertility clinics in Alabama have already suspended parts of their IVF treatment programs amid legal concerns following the ruling, creating uncertainty for patients trying to start families.

Gabrielle Goidal, who spent three months preparing for treatment, is now forced to travel to Texas to go ahead after years of trying to conceive. “I felt like the opportunity to be a mother was taken away from me many times,” Goidel told CNN’s Jessica Dean on Thursday. “I feel like the rug gets pulled for my husband and I every time I try. We just want to be a family, have kids and live the traditional American dream.”

Republicans circle around governing Alabama

Democrats, drawing on evidence from multiple polls since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, believe that making good on promises to protect reproductive rights — and portraying the GOP as a threat to those freedoms — can help them win over critical voters and rebuild. Biden’s election coalition.

The Biden campaign released a statement Thursday evening highlighting the fact that Donald Trump has yet to comment on the ruling. The message, which included the subject line “Trump’s statement on the IVF failure in Alabama that he is responsible for” followed by a blank space, reflected Democrats’ delight in seeing Republicans upset about an issue in which they firmly believe. Touch the emotions of the American electorate.

Trump’s silence and the verbal gymnastics of Haley, his latest primary rival, belie the treacherous political challenges of the changing reality surrounding abortion.

Haley has made several attempts in recent days to answer questions about his position on the Alabama ruling.

Speaking on CNN’s “King Charles” show Wednesday night, Haley said she believes “a fetus is considered an unborn child.” The next day, when asked on “The Lead” by CNN’s Jake Tapper if she disagreed with Alabama’s decision, the former South Carolina governor said yes, though she repeated that she personally believes the fetus is a child. “I think the court did it based on the law, but I think Alabama needs to step back and look at the law,” he said.

Despite fears in Alabama that anyone who destroys a fetus now could face criminal charges, Haley, who has spoken out about how she used artificial insemination, said she does not want to stop IVF treatment. “We want to make sure that whatever we do, we have plenty of opportunities and availability for fertility treatments going forward,” she said. “We don’t want fertility treatments to be put on hold.”

South Carolina Sen. Haley Tim Scott, a former Republican presidential contender who has been talked about as a possible running mate for Trump if he wins the nomination, also underscored the political dilemmas the Alabama decision presents for Republican candidates. “I haven’t studied this issue, so I’m going to continue to go back and forth with Nikki Haley on this issue,” Scott told CNN.

The fact that Trump avoids discussion and questions from anyone other than cordial interviewers means he can avoid talking about the Alabama ruling for a while. The former president has made it clear by his actions that he understands that abortion could be a disadvantage to him in a general election, even though he was the man who formed the majority on the Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Her balance was threatened earlier this month when The New York Times reported that she had privately expressed support for a 16-week federal abortion ban, including exceptions for rape, adultery or endangering the mother’s life.

If Trump doesn’t have the shield to build a right-wing generational majority on the high court, that position — which is more moderate than the restrictions enacted by some GOP-led states — could expose him to problems on his right. Primary.. The idea of ​​a federal ban also defies the Supreme Court’s clear argument that this is an issue that should be left to the states.

Trump has publicly insisted that he will sit down with both sides of the abortion debate and find a solution that makes everyone happy. While his reluctance may get him out of a temporary bind, he is unlikely to succeed in a general election and strains the credibility with which he can function in government.

And he seems caught in a paradoxical position: at the same time wanting to claim credit for an incredibly conservative majority on the Supreme Court that overturned a federal right to abortion and avoid a major backlash.

“We also have to remember that we have to elect people,” he said Thursday night at a gathering of religious broadcasters in Nashville, trying to strike that balance.

Donald Trump and Nikki Haley

Biden tries to exploit the weaknesses of the Republican Party

Biden’s campaign, which has shown signs of intensifying its general election argument on issues ranging from student loans to foreign policy, moved quickly to exploit Republican unrest over the Alabama ruling. The president is acting on recent history that shows that abortion rights supporters in Roe v. Wade to encourage voters in recent elections.

“Make no mistake: this is a direct result of overturning Roe v. Wade,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House on Thursday. She said the Alabama ruling showed a “disregard for women’s ability to make these decisions for themselves” and was “reprehensible and unacceptable.”

Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement that the Alabama ruling was the result of an “extreme MAGA reproductive agenda.”

“Across the country, MAGA Republicans are getting involved in the most personal decisions a family can make, from contraception to IVF,” she said. “With their latest attacks on reproductive freedom, these so-called pro-life Republicans are preventing loving couples from growing their families. If Donald Trump is elected, there is no doubt that he will impose his extreme anti-liberty agenda across the country.”

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Democrats believe this issue gives them an advantage to win. While it’s too early to know how the issue will fare in the election, the way Republicans are reacting to the recent firestorm over reproductive rights suggests they may be right.