Oklahoma lawmaker on Alabama IVF ruling: ‘This is not the position’ of Republican Party

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling on frozen embryos is “not the position” of the GOP.

Mullin reflected on his and his wife’s fertility struggles on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, saying that the recent ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court was not in line with the Republican Party’s beliefs.

“Well, listen, as you know, my wife and I, we struggled for seven years to have children. And it was tough. It was something that was very difficult for us month after month after month. And we went through all types of fertility,” he said.

The state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are people last month and therefore subject to wrongful death of a minor legislation should something happen to them, which has since prompted multiple in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics to shut down operations. Mullin also expressed optimism that the Alabama Legislature will pass legislation to protect access to IVF, but he noted he would support federal action if necessary.

“And so anyone that’s out there thinking that — in Alabama, thinking, ‘Oh, my goodness, what’s going to happen? We have been trying to have children, we have been wanting to have children, now that’s going to be affected’ — I can tell you, that’s not the position the Republican Party stands [on],” he said.

“We understand that. I’m not the only one in the Republican Party, for that matter, the only one in politics, that has struggled having children. This had nothing to do with politics. This is the ruling of a court that I believe that the Alabama state legislators are probably going to fix. But, as I reiterate, this is not the position of [the] Republican Party or the pro-life movement at all,” he said.

When asked if he would support IVF protections on the federal level, he said he would if the state could not get it done. The Alabama House of Representatives and state Senate both passed bills last week stating that IVF providers have civil and criminal immunity from prosecution and legal action related to the services they provide.

“If we need to do this federally, we absolutely will support it. And you will see a lot of support, maybe complete support in the Republican Party,” he said. 

“I can’t obviously speak for all my colleagues. But I think the state Legislature in Alabama is going to resolve this issue. And, hopefully, we don’t have to do this federally. But if we do need to, I can assure you I will be right in the middle of that fight fighting for it,” he added.