Minnesota Governor Tim Walz openly discusses his and his wife Gwen’s struggles with infertility during the campaign. He then attacks Republicans for trying to block IVF. However, his family’s personal story with infertility turns out to be another form of treatment, not IVF.
As part of his campaign speech, running mate Kamala Harris speaks about the need for Republicans to “mind their own business,” then tells the story of his family seeking fertility treatment.
“That goes for IVF as well, and that’s personal for me and my family,” Walz said during his first appearance as Harris’ running mate.When my wife and I decided to have children, we underwent years of fertility treatments.’
Walz’s recent comments have led some to assume that he and his wife Gwen conceived their two children through IVF, but the campaign recently clarified that the couple actually used another common fertility treatment, intrauterine insemination, or IUI.
Governor Tim Walz with his wife Gwen at the Democratic National Convention on Monday. During the campaign, he shared their personal story of struggling with infertility. However, their treatment was IUI, not IFV
In a statement to the New York Times, Gwen Walz said a neighbor knew what she was going through at the time. She said, “She was a nurse and helped me get the vaccinations I needed as part of the IUI process.”
She continued, “I ran home from school and she gave me the shots to make sure we stayed on schedule.”
IUI does not create or discard embryos as IVF does, and therefore has not been a target of abortion opponents as IVF has been.
Instead, the process involves placing sperm directly into a uterus. IVF is often more successful than IUI
A spokesperson for Walz told the Times that Walz often talks about his family undergoing “treatments like this” and that he used “commonly known abbreviations for fertility treatments.”
This comes after Walz used his personal story to attack Republicans, as some anti-abortion activists have taken aim at IVF since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending the constitutional right to abortion.
In February, the Alabama Supreme Court jeopardized IVF when it ruled that frozen embryos should be treated as children. Unlike IVF, IUI does not involve creating or discarding embryos as in IVF, but rather inserting sperm directly into a uterus.
In February, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos must be treated as children, throwing the industry into chaos and raising questions about the future of fertility treatment, forcing Republicans to backtrack and defend their positions
Walz wrote in response on Facebook: “Gwen and I have two beautiful children thanks to reproductive health care like IVF. This issue is very personal to our family and to so many others. Don’t let these guys get away with saying they support IVF when their hand-picked judges are against it.”
Worldwide, more than ten million babies have been born through IVF and more than half a million IVF deliveries occur each year.
IUI is much less invasive, so it is often used as a starting point for couples struggling with infertility. Although they are different treatments, some patients have used the terms interchangeably when discussing infertility.
Americans overwhelmingly support access to IFV treatment. Seventy percent of adults said access to IFV is a good thing, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted earlier this year. Only eight percent said it was a bad thing.