After governors visit White House, Moore blasts Alabama IVF ruling as ‘out of step’

By Torrence Banks and Brennan Stewart

Gov. Wes Moore (D) on Friday denounced an Alabama Supreme Court ruling last week that frozen embryos have the same rights as children.

Moore said that the judges’ decision was completely “out of step” with where citizens in the country are.

“And I think it’s another indication of why elections matter in this,” Moore said in an interview with Capital News Service outside the White House following a National Governors Association meeting with President Biden. “Because let’s not forget, the people who we elect are the ones who are also helping to appoint these judges.”

The unprecedented Alabama ruling stated that those who damage embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) can be criminally prosecuted.

The decision came from a lawsuit filed by three couples against the Center for Reproductive Medicine after embryos conceived using IVF were destroyed on their watch.

According to the CDC, IVF is the most popular assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment. Approximately 2.3% of children born in the United States each year are conceived using ART.

Moore was among nearly three dozen governors at the NGA’s winter meeting session at the White House with Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Cabinet members and other administration officials.

The governors discussed bipartisan solutions to artificial intelligence risks, disaster response and housing affordability among other issues.

“It was a great meeting because you get a chance to see with all the other governors, both Democrat and Republican, that a lot of the opportunities and challenges we’re seeing are pretty universal,” Moore said.

In remarks to the governors gathered in the White House’s East Room, Biden thanked the states’ chief executives for being “incredible partners.”

“Governors know the measure of success isn’t how many partisan points we score,” the president said. “It’s: Did we fix the problem? Did we fix the problem?”

“We disagree on how to fix the problem many times,” Biden continued. “We’re all here for one reason: to fix the problems — to get things done for families, for communities, for the country.”

Biden also used a meeting with the governors to press for assistance to Ukraine and bipartisan immigration policy changes, both of which are stalled in Congress.

“You deal with this every day, some of you deal with it every single day,” Biden told the governors, referring to border security and immigration policy. “You have real skin in the game.”

Moore said that he and Biden spoke specifically about providing support for military families and military spouses, as well as solutions to the border crisis and methods to further improve the nation’s economy.

He also praised Biden for his support in helping him address the housing crisis in Maryland.

Moore noted that he recently introduced and testified on bills that would set up a state renters’ rights office, increase liquidity for first-time homebuyers, and ensure that the state works with local jurisdictions to address zoning restrictions.

“And so we’re grateful that in Maryland, we’re gonna get a lot of big things done on housing this year,” Moore said. “But that’s because it’s being done in partnership with the White House.”

Moore has enthusiastically endorsed Biden’s reelection and is expected to be a major surrogate for the Biden-Harris ticket, specifically with Black voters and younger voters.

Jennifer Shutt from States Newsroom and Josh Kurtz from Maryland Matters contributed to this report.

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