Kamala Harris slams Trump for claiming he is 'the father of IVF'

Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday criticized former President Donald Trump's recent comments on in vitro fertilization, citing his administration's impact on abortion restrictions across the country.

Harris told reporters that she found it “pretty bizarre” when Trump said, “I'm the father of IVF,” during an all-female Fox News panel that aired Wednesday morning.

“He should take responsibility for the fact that one in three women in America live in a state where Trump's abortion ban is in effect,” Harris said Wednesday as he left Detroit. “He should take responsibility for the fact that couples who are praying, hoping and working towards starting a family have been so disappointed and harmed by the fact that IVF treatments are now at risk.”

She argued that the appointment of Supreme Court justices responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade agreed, undermining his claim.

“Let’s not be distracted by his choice of words,” she said. “The reality is that his actions have been very damaging to women and families in America.”

In a press release from the Harris campaign after the town hall aired, the campaign pointed to his “father of IVF” comments as an “example of why women don't trust him” on reproductive health issues more broadly.

Trump made the comments about IVF during a town hall event that was taped on Tuesday but aired on Wednesday.

“I'm the father of IVF, so I want to hear that question,” Trump said as the moderator directed him to the next voter to ask a question.

Trump also said during the town hall that “we are all for IVF.”

He previously said in an interview with NBC News that if elected, his administration would let the government or insurance companies foot the bill for the procedure.

When asked for comment on Harris' comments, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Trump's comments about him being “the father of IVF” were “a joke.”

“It was a joke President Trump made in jest while enthusiastically answering a question about IVF, as he strongly advocates for widespread access to fertility treatments for women and families. The media should develop a sense of humor,” Leavitt said.

During the same town hall meeting, Trump again praised making abortion an issue decided at the state level rather than the federal level after the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade overruled, ending decades of federal protections.

“What we have achieved is truly due to the courage of six Supreme Court justices. We were able to do this after years of turmoil,” Trump said during the town hall. “Now it’s back in the States.”

According to an NBC News analysis using data from the Center for Reproductive Rights, abortion increased after the end of Roe v. Wade is banned, restricted or no longer possible in more than 20 states.

IVF came into the campaign spotlight in February when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos created through IVF were children, leading several clinics to discontinue these fertility services.

The court ruling sparked a swift backlash, and the state legislature eventually passed a bill protecting IVF, which the governor signed in March.

Congressional Democrats and some Republicans have tried multiple times to pass legislation protecting access to IVF at the federal level, but a majority of Republicans blocked the efforts, saying they were unnecessary and politically motivated.

A poll conducted this month by NBC News found that there will be a wide gender gap ahead of the 2024 election, with women favoring Harris by a 14-point margin and men favoring Trump by a 16-point margin. The same poll found that abortion was the top motivating issue for voters — an issue that 53% of registered voters thought Harris would handle better, compared to 34% of registered voters who went for Trump.