Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., appeared to struggle to answer questions on Thursday related to a ruling by his state's Supreme Court last week that embryos are considered children.
“Yeah, I was all for it,” Tuberville told reporters at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday when asked about the Alabama Supreme Court's Friday ruling that embryos created through in vitro fertilization are considered children under state law.
“We need to have more kids. We need to have an opportunity to do that, and I thought this was the right thing to do,” Tuberville said.
Pressed by NBC News about whether he was concerned about how the ruling could impact people who are trying to have kids through IVF, Tuberville sidestepped the question.
“Well, that’s, that’s for another conversation. I think the big thing is right now, you protect — you go back to the situation and try to work it out to where it’s best for everybody. I mean, that’s what — that’s what the whole abortion issue is about,” he said.
The Alabama lawmaker, who noted that he had not seen the ruling, appeared to struggle to explain how the decision, which threatens to limit access to IVF treatment, would help more people have children.
“It's about the same direction, but I agree, but people need to have access. People need to have — we need more kids, we need the people to have the opportunity to have kids,” he said.
President Joe Biden on Thursday blasted the court’s ruling, describing it as “outrageous and unacceptable” and saying it put at risk fertility treatment for those “who are desperately trying to get pregnant.”
Some Republicans on Capitol Hill have suggested state law should be adjusted to accommodate families who want to have children.
“I think they should modify the law because, you know, the courts are just there, representing what the law is,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told “Meet the Press NOW” on Thursday. “We want moms and dads to have children if they want to have children.”
Tuberville made headlines last year when he held up military nominations for months in protest of a Defense Department policy permitting reimbursement for service members' abortion-related travel expenses. The Alabama Republican, who said in November that voting to circumvent his holds would be “suicide for some” Republicans because “you’re either pro-life or you’re not,” ended that hold in December. The Senate then confirmed a backlog of hundreds of military nominees.
