Joe Biden’s motorcade was blocked by protesters during the State of the Union.
BREAKING: MAJOR PROTESTS IN WASHINGTON D.C. BLOCKS BIDEN MOTORCADE ROUTE
They are stopping his State of the Union address at US Capitol.pic.twitter.com/OVlzJkqpx3
— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) March 8, 2024
Former President Donald Trump and GOP leaders are facing backlash over Alabama’s recent controversial IVF decision, and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a scathing memo accusing Republicans of attempting to distance themselves from their own records on IVF. The memo criticizes the Life at Conception Act, which over 120 House Republicans, including Speaker Johnson, co-sponsored last year. The act is described as an extreme and dangerous bill that would eliminate reproductive freedom by starting at the moment of fertilization, aligning with the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision.
Jean-Pierre’s memo highlights the broader Republican agenda against reproductive rights, including the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the introduction of abortion bans in multiple states. The memo condemns the attack on birth control access, denial of care for ectopic pregnancy, and the recent threat to IVF.
The Alabama Supreme Court decision, which considers embryos frozen for IVF treatments as children and allows prosecution for their destruction as wrongful death, has sparked nationwide outrage. Jean-Pierre points out the impact on families seeking fertility care, the fear of prosecution among doctors, and the halting of operations in fertility clinics. She accuses Republican officials of attempting to erase their records on IVF while emphasizing that their true agenda is on the record.
The memo underscores the Republican worry that their extreme policies might not be popular and criticizes their attempts to rebrand without changing their true colors on reproductive rights. Jean-Pierre emphasizes that their support for extreme policies, including the Life at Conception Act, is well-documented and cannot be obfuscated.
MEMO
To: Interested parties
RE: House Republicans scramble to prove they support IVF. Have they forgotten the Life at Conception Act?
Date: February 26, 2024
From: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
When the Supreme Court – enabled by justices nominated by Donald Trump – took the outrageous step of overturning Roe v. Wade and forcing politicians into the most personal decisions women and families can make, it paved the road for Republican elected officials to pursue their extreme agenda. Since then, they have put in place extreme abortion bans in 21 states, proposed three national abortion bans in Congress, and have introduced more than 380 state bills attacking access to reproductive health care.
But it doesn’t stop there.
Birth control access is under attack. Women are being denied care for ectopic pregnancy. And now, with this decision out of Alabama, IVF is under attack.
The backlash and outrage reverberated across the country when the decision out of the Alabama Supreme Court came down. Americans read the devastating reports of families seeking fertility care who don’t know what to do or where to turn, including after investing their life savings attempting to grow their families. Doctors are afraid of prosecution. Fertility clinics are halting operations. And families in other states are worried they might be targeted next.
Apparently during their two week recess, House Republicans read those reports, too.
Now Republican elected officials are shamelessly attempting to erase their own records on IVF. The problem is, they can’t.
Because just last year, over 120 Republicans, including Speaker Johnson, co-sponsored [huffpost.com] the Life at Conception Act, an extreme, dangerous bill that would eliminate reproductive freedom for all women in every state. And it would go even further than most bans currently in effect—starting at the moment of fertilization and making the desperate situation that women and families are facing right now in Alabama the law of the land.
Republican officials think they can obfuscate their way out of their support for these extreme policies. But spin is not a time machine. No attempt to “rebrand” can change the fact that their true colors are on the record. They have spent decades trying to eliminate the constitutional right to choose and undermine reproductive freedom everywhere.
Their agenda is clear, they’re just worried it’s not popular.
