Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is trying to have his cake and eat it too when it comes to staking out his position on in vitro fertilization, or IVF.
Paxton, who’s locked in a tight U.S. Senate race, recently distanced himself from the Texas GOP’s controversial decision to adopt anti-IVF language as part of its platform.
However, in comments to the Washington Examiner this week, Paxton signaled he does want to see some limitations on how women access IVF, a widely used fertility treatment.
“We need to have restrictions, so that we don’t lose fertilized eggs, if that’s possible, and we need to just examine the issue,” Paxton told the paper.
That doesn’t exactly line up with the claim he made to the Texas Tribune in a June 18 statement, in which he couched himself as a “strong supporter” of the treatment.
“Strong families are the foundation of a strong nation,” Paxton said at the time. “Every child is a blessing, and every family hoping to welcome a child deserves support and compassion. I am a strong supporter of IVF and pro-family policies that help Americans experience the wonders of parenthood.”
During its June 11-13 annual convention in Houston, the Texas Republican Party called on lawmakers to “protect fetal life from destructive practices, such as IVF and commercial surrogacy,” as part of its platform.
IVF is the process of combining mature eggs with sperm in a lab, then inserting the resulting embryo into the uterus. The expensive treatment is used by couples with fertility issues as well as LGBTQ+ people who otherwise would be unable to conceive.
Conservative Republicans have increasingly taken issue with the process, with some arguing that embryos are human beings.
Conflicting takes on the procedure within GOP circles have created tension in the party, as became apparent with the Alabama Supreme Court’s February ruling that frozen embryos are children.
Paxton is currently in a virtual tie with Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat after the attorney general defeated Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary.
Although Paxton’s effort to thread the needle on IVF looks like a bid to move to the political middle ahead of November, it’s up to voters to decide whether they can trust what he says.
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