Gwen Walz, wife of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), shared more information Tuesday about what type of infertility treatment she and her husband used to have children, after media outlets and campaign materials erroneously indicated they had chosen in vitro fertilization (IVF).
The Minnesota governor has frequently spoken in public about using treatments “like IVF” to have children without specifying what those were. As The New York Times reported, the Tim Walz for Governor campaign office sent out a fundraising letter earlier this year that read, “My wife and I used I.V.F. to start a family.”
Gwen Walz said in a statement Tuesday that the couple had opted for intrauterine insemination (IUI) when dealing with infertility.
“Our fertility journey was an incredibly personal and difficult experience. Like so many who have experienced these challenges, we kept it largely to ourselves at the time — not even sharing the details with our wonderful and close family,” Walz said.
“The only person who knew in detail what we were going through was our next door neighbor. She was a nurse and helped me with the shots I needed as part of the IUI process. I’d rush home from school and she would give me the shots to ensure we stayed on track. Many of our closest family and friends were surprised when we shared these experiences so many years later.”
Gwen Walz said she and the governor decided to share their experience “after seeing the extreme attacks on reproductive health care across the country — particularly, the efforts in Alabama that jeopardized access to fertility treatments.”
Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that frozen embryos can legally be considered the same as children in wrongful death suits, leading the three major IVF clinics in the state to temporarily pause services and thrusting the procedure into the political spotlight.
In a Facebook post following the Alabama ruling, Tim Walz wrote, “Gwen and I have two beautiful children because of reproductive health care like IVF.”
IVF involves inseminating an egg cell outside of the body before implanting the embryo in a uterus. IUI involves placing healthy sperm cells directly in the uterus, closer to the egg cells, to improve the chances of fertilization.
According to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, IUI generally costs less than IVF while also having a lower chance of success.
Regarding prior statements implying the Minnesota governor had chosen IVF, Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said, “Governor Walz talks how normal people talk. He was using commonly understood shorthand for fertility treatments.”
After Gwen Walz shared that she and her husband had used IUI, Ohio Sen. JD Vance (R), former President Trump’s running mate, accused Tim Walz on social media of having “lied about having a family via IVF.”
Tim Walz had previously said, “If it was up to JD Vance, I wouldn’t have a family because of IVF.” The Harris-Walz campaign has sought to paint Vance as being against IVF access, writing in a campaign email on World IVF Day that he “is driving away voters in droves, insulting couples struggling with infertility who are sounding off on his disparaging comments about ‘childless’ women.”
Ehrenberg responded to Vance’s accusation in a statement, saying, “The Trump campaign’s attacks on Mrs. Walz are just another example of how cruel and out of touch Donald Trump and JD Vance are when it comes to women’s healthcare.”
“Infertility is a deeply personal journey, but the Governor and Mrs. Walz came forward to share their story because they know that MAGA attacks on reproductive rights are putting all fertility treatments at risk,” added Ehrenberg.