Topline
Democrats celebrated Marilyn Lands’ victory in an Alabama state House race Wednesday after Lands made her support for IVF access a key campaign issue—what Democrats are billing as a harbinger for the 2024 election as they seek to capitalize on the GOP’s support—and voters’ opposition—of abortion restrictions.
Key Facts
Lands, a professional counselor, handily beat Republican Madison City Council member Teddy Powell by 26 points in a special election Tuesday, flipping the Huntsville-area seat to Democrats’ control.
Lands, who lost the race for the seat in 2022, said her win is a “clear message that will be heard in Montgomery and across the nation,” repeating her calls on the campaign trail to repeal Alabama’s restrictive abortion ban and fully restore access to in vitro fertilization.
Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez called Lands’ win a “major warning sign” for former President Donald Trump in a statement that blamed the former president for the Alabama Supreme Court’s controversial February ruling that restricts the use of IVF, alleging his appointment of conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade paved the way for the Alabama ruling.
Democrats painted Lands’ win as proof that their strategy of blaming the GOP for the controversial IVF ruling, the latest frontier in the battle over reproductive rights, will work in 2024, both against Trump and vulnerable Senate and House Republicans—building on Democrats’ success in elections in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s reversal as polls show most Americans support access to abortion rights and even more so IVF.
Republicans, meanwhile, are scrambling to deploy a clear messaging strategy surrounding IVF, with many seeking to separate the issue from abortion, after their rhetoric surrounding abortion was widely viewed as disjointed and confusing.
Like many Republicans, Trump has indicated he supports both IVF access and abortion restrictions, stances Democrats say can’t coexist: last week, Trump indicated for the first time he might back a 15-week federal abortion ban, after largely shying away from the issue, and he voiced his support for IVF in the wake of the Alabama decision, calling on the state legislature to “act quickly to find an immediate solution.”
Crucial Quote
“Last night, voters in Alabama made their voices heard and voted overwhelmingly for Marilyn Lands, who made clear that she would fight to protect access to reproductive health care including IVF,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday.
Key Background
Alabama’s Supreme Court in February ruled that embryos used in the IVF process are essentially children, protected under the state’s wrongful death law. The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by two families who alleged their embryos were inadvertently destroyed at an IVF clinic. The ruling raised fears that it would significantly restrict the IVF process by preventing IVF patients from freezing their embryos, which are often discarded if prospective parents choose not to use them. Several clinics halted IVF procedures in the wake of the ruling, though some restarted services after the state legislature passed a law to protect patients and caregivers from legal ramifications in the event embryos are discarded. Democrats seized on the ruling, targeting Republicans for supporting Roe v. Wade’s reversal, while alleging the landmark decision empowered states to decide when life begins.
Contra
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm for Senate Republicans, warned in a memo to candidates the Alabama IVF decision would be “fodder for Democrats hoping to manipulate the abortion issue for electoral gain.” The memo urged Republicans to “clearly state your support for IVF . . . oppose restrictions on IVF” and “campaign on increasing access.” It also notes polling from Republican consultant Kellyanne Conway’s firm that found 85% of respondents support increased access to fertility-related procedures and services.
