Frozen Embryos Are People? In the World of Politics, at Least

Clarence Page, Tribune Content Agency on Feb 27, 2024

In a presidential election year when that “old-time religion” of which we sang in Sunday school seems to be encroaching on what used to be the scrupulously secular circles of politics, Christian fundamentalism is now a frequent topic in Washington debates. Theocracy, anyone?

Even by the standards of Bible Belt conservatives, the Alabama Supremes’ statement that embryos are equivalent to children hit many political figures by surprise.

Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s reaction sounded like he was trying to come down on both sides, telling reporters he is “all for” the decision but quickly adding, “We need more kids.”

Yup, that’s the dilemma a lot of folks have rolling around in their heads. Everybody likes kids, generally speaking, but everybody also likes freedom.

What makes the abortion issue so vexing and volatile is its inherent contradiction between two cherished human values: choice and life. Hitting that sweet spot between those values is particularly tricky these days, since the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade sent the abortion debate back to the states.

So far, every post-Roe state referendum has upheld the right to choose, even in conservative states. Even former President Donald Trump seems to have quieted his boasts about appointing the Supreme Court justices who provided the margin in overturning Roe, offering a new example of the old warnings about being careful what you ask for.

After remaining uncharacteristically quiet on the IVF uproar until Friday afternoon, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that the GOP should be “on the side of Mothers, Fathers, and their Beautiful Babies.”

“IVF is an important part of that,” he added.

Trump called on the Alabama legislature to act “quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama.”

He prudently avoided saying precisely what that solution might look like. His Republican challenger Nikki Haley earlier sided with the Alabama Supremes, defending the notion that “embryos, to me, are babies. … That’s a life.”

And that’s a position, unscientific as it may be, that probably won’t get her in trouble with conservative Republicans.

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(E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@chicagotribune.com.)