Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., criticized the media's portrayal of in vitro fertilization Saturday, stating, "I think the left media has deliberately made this a confusing issue."
Santorum emphasized, on Newsmax, that neither Republicans nor Democrats call for the end of IVF. "This is a created issue of the left," he said.
Santorum, a Catholic, noted that while the Catholic Church does not support IVF, he is not advocating for its prohibition. He highlighted ethical concerns surrounding the half a million frozen embryos in the U.S. and called for ethical regulation of the IVF industry.
"It's never been regulated. And so that's really the question here," he said. "It's not whether it's going to happen or not; it's whether there should be some ethical regulation of the industry."
Former President Donald Trump weighed in on the IVF debate in a Friday post on Truth Social: "Under my leadership, the Republican Party will always support the creation of strong, thriving, healthy American families. We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder!"
The Alabama Supreme Court's recent ruling, which classified frozen embryos as children, has sparked debate within the Republican Party.
GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley initially agreed with the ruling. USA Today reported that she told NBC News, "Embryos, to me, are babies."
She later "clarified" that her support lies in upholding the rights of parents regarding the handling of embryos.
"I didn't say that I agreed with the Alabama ruling," Haley said on CNN's "King Charles."
"This case was based on and should be based on the rights of those parents for their embryos and to make sure that they have the responsibility with the doctors on how they should be handled, not more than that," Haley added.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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