IVF is personal for Tim Walz and his family, as Harris touts reproductive rights

As states and Capitol Hill debate reproductive technology like in vitro fertilization, IVF is a personal topic for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen. 

It’s because of IVF and similar fertility treatments, Walz says, that he has a family of four. Walz has spoken publicly about he and his wife’s struggles with infertility, telling the Star Tribune in March that the couple underwent IVF procedures for seven years before Gwen became pregnant with their daughter, Hope. 

“This gets personal for me and my family,” Walz said Tuesday in a Philadelphia rally alongside Vice President Kamala Harris just hours after being announced as her running mate. “When my wife and I decided to have children we spent years going through infertility treatments. And I remember praying every night for a call for good news. The pit in my stomach when the phone rang, and the agony when we heard that the treatments hadn’t worked. So this wasn’t by chance that when we welcomed my daughter into the world, we named her Hope.”

The Walz family’s use of fertility treatments also isn’t lost on Harris, who highlighted their fertility journey Tuesday. Harris has been a vocal advocate of reproductive technology, as well as women’s access to abortion. 

“Governor Walz and Mrs. Walz have two children, Hope and Gus,” the Harris campaign said in a statement. “Governor Walz and Mrs. Walz struggled with years of fertility challenges and had their daughter, Hope, through reproductive health care like IVF — further cementing his commitment to ensuring all Americans have access to this care.”

Walz voiced concern about Americans’ access to IVF after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that frozen embryos made through IVF are children under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, sparking fears that women’s fertility treatments could be placed in jeopardy. 

“Gwen and I have two beautiful children because of reproductive health care like IVF,” Walz wrote on Facebook after the Alabama Supreme Court ruling. “This issue is deeply personal to our family and so many others. Don’t let these guys get away with this by telling you they support IVF when their handpicked judges oppose it. Actions speak louder than words, and their actions are clear. They’re bringing anti-science government into your exam room, bedroom, and classroom.”

IVF has been a topic of debate on Capitol Hill, too. After the Alabama Supreme Court ruling, in June the Senate voted on legislation to make IVF access a right nationally. All but two Senate Republicans voted to block the set of bills, while still insisting that they support IVF. Some Republicans called the push for the legislation a political stunt on the part of Democrats. 

When the vote took place, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said the “tragic situation in Alabama has been used to fearmonger and scare that IVF is somehow in jeopardy.”

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance was one of the vast majority of Senate Republicans who voted against the IVF package, something the Harris campaign highlighted. 

On July 25, “World IVF Day,” the Harris campaign said, “Happy World IVF Day to Everyone Except JD Vance.” 

Walz also blasted Vance in a message that day.

“Even if you’ve never gone through the hell of infertility, someone you know has,” Walz wrote on social media. “When Gwen and I were having trouble getting pregnant, the anxiety and frustration blotted out the sun. JD Vance opposing the miracle of IVF is a direct attack on my family and so many others.”