Gwen Walz has clarified in a statement that she did not use in vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive, telling CNN that she and her husband, Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz, went through a different fertility treatment, intrauterine insemination.
In campaign speeches since joining the Democrat ticket as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, Walz has often said the issue of access to IVF treatment is "personal" to him and his family, sharing the story of their attempt to conceive their two children.
"This one's personal for me about IVF and reproductive care," Walz said at a rally in Glendale, Arizona, earlier this month. "When we wanted to have children, we went through years of fertility treatment."
And last month, he attacked Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, for his opposition to a bill that would have guaranteed access to IVF nationwide, telling MSNBC that "thank God for IVF, my wife, and I have two beautiful children."
In her statement to CNN, the Minnesota first lady said the couple attempted intrauterine insemination, a process she described as "an incredibly personal and difficult experience."
"Like so many who have experienced these challenges, we kept it largely to ourselves at the time – not even sharing the details with our wonderful and close family," she continued. "The only person who knew in detail what we were going through was our next door neighbor. She was a nurse and helped me with the shots I needed as part of the IUI process. I'd rush home from school, and she would give me the shots to ensure we stayed on track."
People experiencing infertility commonly begin with IUI and move on to IVF if needed.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, some anti-abortion groups started pushing for restrictions in IVF care. In February, Alabama's Supreme Court ruled embryos created by IVF treatments should be considered children, creating a pathway for the process to potentially be restricted under the state's abortion law.
"After seeing the extreme attacks on reproductive health care across the country – particularly, the efforts in Alabama that jeopardized access to fertility treatments – Tim and I agreed that it was time to formally speak out about our experience," Gwen Walz told CNN.
Harris campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg, in explaining Tim Walz's prior use of the term IVF to describe his family's fertility issues, said he "talks how normal people talk. He was using commonly understood shorthand for fertility treatments."