Abbott Backs IVF, Notes Texas ‘Is a Pro-life State’

Following the controversial decision by the Alabama Supreme Court stating that frozen embryos are human beings and people who discard them can be held liable for wrongful death, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that he backs in vitro fertilization, although he did not call for a law to protect access in Texas. 

The Alabama ruling has led fertility clinics in the state to begin stopping IVF services, but Abbott said he wants to ensure some people will have access to IVF. 

“We want to make it easier for people to be able to have babies, not make it harder,” Abbott said, repeating a statement put out by former President Donald Trump on the issue. 

Abbott emphasized that “the IVF process is a way of giving life to even more babies. And so, what I think, the goal 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.”

Trump, in his statement, urged the Alabama Legislature to “act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama.”

Due to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling, some families have gone to other states, such as Texas, where there is still access to IVF services, CNN reported. 

But when Abbott was asked if he planned to urge the Texas Legislature to create laws to keep IVF legal, he was noncommittal. 

The governor said he thought Texas would eventually address the issue, but added, “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.”