Speaker of the House Mike Johnson refused to answer whether the willful termination of embryos during in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures is murder.
John was asked to clarify his position in an interview with “CBS Mornings” on Thursday amid growing dissonance between Republicans’ pro-life stance and stated support for IVF procedures that intentionally terminate fertilized embryos.
“In the process, [embryos] are destroyed and disposed of,” interviewer Tony Dokoupil said to the House Speaker. “If you believe life begins at conception, fertilization — and I know you do — do you see that as murder?”
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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson was unable to say whether in vitro fertilization procedures
Despite his past vehemently pro-life statements, Johnson wavered on the question, saying that not enough was known about IVF to comment.
“It’s something that we’ve got to grapple with,” Johnson replied. “It’s a brave new world. IVF’s only been invented I think in the early ’70s.”
He added, “We support the sanctity of life, of course, and we support IVF and full access to it.”
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A container with frozen embryos and sperm stored in liquid nitrogen is removed at a fertility clinic in Fort Myers, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
Republicans have been uncomfortable standing by their pro-life rhetoric after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that the destruction of an embryo is murder due to the personhood of unborn children.
IVF procedures almost universally involve the artifical fertilization and freezing of multiple embryos. Those that are deemed undesirable or end up unwanted are then discarded or destroyed. Approximately 2.3% of births in the U.S. are a result of IVF.
“Unborn children are ‘children’ … without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics,” Justice Jay Mitchell wrote in the ruling.
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A medical director at Huntsville Reproductive Medicine, P.C., looks on as a nurse practitioner opens an IVF cryopreservation dewar in Madison, Alabama. (Reuters)
The state’s legislature quickly sprung into action to protect IVF. Several clinics conducting IVF shut down their procedures after the court’s decision, but once the state passed a law releasing them from liability, some of the centers began to reopen.
In the aftermath, many GOP leaders have done a 180-degree turn on their own position that life begins at conception, arguing that IVF is fundamentally different from abortion despite the intentional destruction of embryos post-conception.
So far, no GOP party leader or lawmaker has attempted to articulate a logical justification for supporting IVF while simultaneously professing a belief that life begins at conception and must be protected.
Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson contributed to this report.