Michelle Steel “Shows Mind-Blowing Hypocrisy on Alabama IVF Ruling”

Daily Kos: “It’s been a really rough week for Republicans who hate reproductive rights, and Republican Rep. Michelle Steel of California is no exception.”

Facing backlash from the Alabama Supreme Court ruling, House Republicans have panicked and attempted to distance themselves from its disastrous impact on IVF treatments.

Michelle Steel jumped online to decry federal restrictions on the procedure, explaining that “IVF allowed [her], as it has so many others, to start [her family].” The only issue? Steel’s own record of course…

As many were quick to point out, Steel has twice signed onto a federal abortion ban with no exceptions — even in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is at stake.

Even worse: Steel’s bill doesn’t include an exception for IVF that was already in other Senate versions of the text. 

DCCC Spokesperson Dan Gottlieb:
“With Michelle Steel’s years-long crusade against reproductive freedom coming closer to reality each week, the anti-choice Congresswoman has been forced to double down on her lies and contradictions. No matter how overwhelmingly unpopular and dangerous these policies are, Steel enthusiastically backs them every time with a reckless disregard for Californians’ freedoms – and they’ll hold her accountable for that at the ballot box.”

See what Californians are reading and seeing about their anti-choice congresswoman:

Business Insider: 125 House Republicans — including Speaker Mike Johnson — back a ‘life at conception’ bill without any IVF exception
Bryan Metzger | February 23, 2024

• This Congress, 125 House Republicans — including Speaker Mike Johnson — have cosponsored the “Life at Conception Act,” which states that the term “human being” includes “all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.”

• The bill does not include any exception for in vitro fertilization (IVF), a reproductive treatment that allows mothers to fertilize several eggs outside the womb in order to increase the chances of a viable pregnancy.

New Republic: GOP Congresswoman Shows Mind-Blowing Hypocrisy on Alabama IVF Ruling
Tori Otten | February 23, 2024

• A Republican representative is outraged by the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling restricting IVF—despite supporting a federal bill that would have done just that.

• “As someone who struggled to get pregnant, I believe all life is a gift. IVF allowed me, as it has so many others, to start my family,” California Representative Michelle Steel tweeted on Thursday. “I believe there is nothing more pro-life than helping families have children, and I do not support federal restrictions on IVF.”

• Steel’s solidarity with Alabaman IVF patients rings pretty hollow considering she co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act. The measure, which was introduced first in 2021 with 166 co-sponsors and then again in 2023 with 124, would have established that life begins at fertilization. The bill has not advanced since.

• Like the Alabama ruling, the Life at Conception Act would have severely restricted—if not effectively banned—IVF treatments as well, because it grants “equal protection” to “preborn” humans, including embryos. Since it’s common for fertilized eggs not to survive the IVF process, the act would put doctors at risk of being charged for wrongful death of embryos. That risk would be enough to scupper the IVF industry.

From CNN:

GOP Rep. Michelle Steel of California, who represents a Biden-won swing district, was one of the Republicans who came out quickly on social media to express support for IVF and share her own struggles with infertility. She also said she opposes any federal restrictions on the procedure.

But Steel is also a co-sponsor of the Life at Conception Act — which Democrats have been quick to point out. Steel’s office has not yet returned a request for comment on how she squares those two positions, nor have other House Republicans who expressed support for IVF while being co-sponsors of the House bill.

From The Washington Post:

The only Republican in a Biden district who signed on [to the Life at Conception Act] in 2023 was Rep. Michelle Steel (Calif.), who also supported it in 2021. 

From MSNBC:

With this in mind, quite a few Republicans quickly found themselves in a bind. Rep. Michelle Steel, for example, issued a statement that read, “As someone who struggled to get pregnant, I believe all life is a gift. IVF allowed me, as it has so many others, to start my family. I believe there is nothing more pro-life than helping families have children, and I do not support federal restrictions on IVF.”

What the Californian didn’t mention is that the Life at Conception Act is sponsored by 125 House members — and she’s one of them. 

From Roll Call:

In the House, some Republicans have also begun to distance themselves from IVF critiques — including those that back the House conception bill in its current form without language protecting the right to have IVF.

Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif., who co-sponsors the House bill, tweeted her support for protecting IVF on Thursday.

“As someone who struggled to get pregnant, I believe all life is a gift. IVF allowed me, as it has so many others, to start my family. I believe there is nothing more pro-life than helping families have children, and I do not support federal restrictions on IVF,” she wrote.

From Business Insider:

GOP Rep. Michelle Steel of California, an anti-abortion advocate, said she did not support federal restrictions on IVF.

“IVF allowed me, as it has so many others, to start my family,” Steel wrote on Thursday on X.

However, users pointed out that Steel is a co-sponsor of the Life at Conception Act.

Introduced in January, the House bill, co-sponsored by 125 House Republicans, would nationally recognize a “human being” to exist at fertilization — a similar position to the Alabama ruling. Previous versions of this bill have failed to move forward for a vote.

There’s no exception for IVF in this House bill. 

From Daily Kos:

It’s been a really rough week for Republicans who hate reproductive rights, and Republican Rep. Michelle Steel of California is no exception. 

“As someone who struggled to get pregnant, I believe all life is a gift. IVF allowed me, as it has so many others, to start my family,” she tweeted Thursday. “I believe there is nothing more pro-life than helping families have children, and I do not support federal restrictions on IVF.”

Great! Just one teeny tiny little problem with that, as Inside Elections editor Jacob Rubashkin noted: Steel actually does support federal restrictions. 

Steel is one of the co-sponsors of the Life at Conception Act, a House bill that “declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual comes into being.”

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