The House Democrats’ campaign arm announced a set of billboard commercials Tuesday aimed at vulnerable Republicans who supported a bill that would have prohibited in vitro fertilization (IVF).
The Democratic Congressional Political Committee (DCCC) is doubling down on its efforts to make IVF a major political issue in November. After a court order temporarily outlawed the operation in Alabama in February, the topic gained traction.
While Alabama Republicans overturned the court verdict with legislation, attempts to codify federal safeguards for IVF have received little Republican support in the House or Senate.
The five-figure expenditure is aimed at eight House Republicans or candidates from swing districts who supported the Life at Conception Act, an “extreme” plan that would have established a federal abortion ban and prohibited IVF operations.
The statute extended constitutional protection to embryos at “the moment of fertilization,” which some have construed as prohibiting IVF and abortion.
The billboard campaign will target Reps. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), Mike Garcia (R-Calif.), Michelle Steel (R-Calif.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), and Scott Perry (R-Penn.), as well as former Reps. Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.) and Mayra Flores (R-Texas).
“House Republicans will stop at nothing—iincluding outlawing in vitro fertilization—tto achieve their ultimate goal of banning abortion and restricting reproductive rights nationwide,” DCCC spokesperson Justin Chermol said in a statement.
“We will not let Americans forget that extreme House Republicans, including those who pretend to be moderates, continue to put politics over families by championing out-of-touch legislation that chips away at freedom,” he went on to say.
When presented in 2021, the Life at Conception Act had over 166 Republican cosponsors. Last year, over 125 Republicans backed a version of the bill.
Following the Alabama ruling, Republicans have accused Democrats of wanting to turn IVF into a political issue.
Steel and Bacon have now distanced themselves from the Life at Conception Act, with Steel withdrawing her name from the 2023 version and Bacon stating that he will not support the current legislation due to worries regarding IVF.
