Harris campaign highlights Tim Walz family's IVF journey

Kamala Harris introduced her VP running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on Tuesday, spotlighting his personal experience with in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

Her campaign emphasized how Walz and his wife, Gwen, overcame years of fertility challenges to conceive their daughter, Hope, through IVF. This could indicate a strategy for the newly formed ticket moving forward.

“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,” the Harris campaign said in a statement.

More: Tim Walz is Kamala Harris' VP pick: Minnesota governor named running mate: Live updates

In February, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos outside the womb are “children,” citing an 1872 law. This ruling sparked concerns about the future of IVF in the state, as clinics could face wrongful death lawsuits if anything happened to an embryo.

Although former President Donald Trump criticized the Alabama ruling and expressed support for IVF, his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, previously voted against the Right to IVF Act, which would have expanded nationwide access to fertility treatment.

On World IVF Day, July 25, Walz called Vance’s decision to vote against the bill “a direct attack” on families like his.

“Even if you’ve never gone through the hell of infertility, someone you know has,” he wrote on X. “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.”

Jeremy Yurow is a politics reporting fellow based in Hawaii for the USA TODAY Network. You can reach him at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter @JeremyYurow

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Could Tim Walz IVF journey become a theme for Harris campaign?