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Walz Conflates IVF, IUI

Glamour, Aug. 19: Gwen Walz opens up about her fertility struggles, confirming use of IUI treatments with husband.

Published August 24, 2024 at 5:04am by

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's Fertility Treatment Claims Under Scrutiny

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has frequently discussed his family's fertility struggles and has accused opponents, including Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, of aiming to restrict in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. Vance, who opposes abortion, has stated his support for continued access to IVF treatments.

IVF sparked political debate in February following an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that classified frozen embryos as people. This has raised concerns about potential restrictions on IVF in Republican-led states amidst the ongoing abortion rights debate.

Walz has often linked his family's fertility issues to the IVF discussion. However, while discussing IVF—a treatment involving the collection and lab fertilization of mature eggs with sperm—Walz has occasionally implied that he and his wife used IVF. In reality, they used intrauterine insemination (IUI), which often precedes IVF.

  • "Today’s IVF day. Thank God for IVF, my wife and I have two beautiful children," Walz said in a July interview on MSNBC’s "Inside with Jen Psaki."
  • "If it was up to him (Vance) I wouldn’t have a family because of IVF," Walz said in a video clip shared online Aug. 9 by the Harris-Walz campaign.
  • The New York Times reported that the Tim Walz for Governor campaign sent a fundraising letter stating, "My wife and I used I.V.F. to start a family."
  • In his March State of the State speech, Walz called the Alabama Supreme Court’s IVF ruling a "direct attack" on his family.

Although Walz made similar assertions in post-nomination speeches, he sometimes referred to general fertility treatments:

  • In his first speech after being chosen as VP, Walz said, "When my wife and I decided to have children, we spent years going through infertility treatments."
  • Similar comments were made in speeches in Glendale, Detroit, and Eau Clarie.

However, Walz also referred to general fertility treatments:

  • In a Feb. 25 Facebook post, Walz wrote, "Gwen and I have two beautiful children because of reproductive health care like IVF."
  • In a March 13 X post, Walz wrote, "My wife and I went through fertility treatments for seven years."
  • At an Aug. 10 Las Vegas rally, Walz spoke about a nurse giving his wife fertility shots.
  • At an Aug. 17 speech in Omaha, Walz said, "When my wife and I decided we wanted to have kids, we spent years in fertility treatments."
  • In March and August interviews, Walz referred to fertility treatments without specifying the type.

Gwen Walz clarified in an Aug. 19 Glamour article that they used IUI treatments.

How do IVF and IUI compare?

IUI is a common fertility treatment that increases the chance of pregnancy by injecting sperm directly into the uterus at the time of ovulation. Doctors often start with IUI before attempting the more invasive and costly IVF, which involves frozen embryos and can be controversial due to the potential destruction of unused embryos.

Gwen Walz stated that they decided to discuss their fertility treatments publicly due to "extreme attacks on reproductive health care."

Vance accused Walz of lying about using IVF in an Aug. 20 X post. Harris campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg told PolitiFact that Walz used "commonly understood shorthand" for fertility treatments and that the couple felt compelled to share their story due to "MAGA attacks on reproductive rights."

Doctors interviewed by PolitiFact noted that patients often conflate IVF and IUI, with Dr. Eve Feinberg and Dr. Leah Roberts confirming that it is common for non-specialists to mix up the terms. Roberts added that restrictions on IVF could indirectly limit IUI access, as both treatments are performed in the same clinics by the same doctors.

Reproductive rights advocates argue that restrictions on IVF could also threaten IUI availability. Ryan Stitzlein, of Reproductive Freedom for All, emphasized that the same clinics and doctors perform both treatments. Feinberg agreed, saying an IVF ban would restrict access to all fertility treatments.

Roberts concluded by noting the importance of discussing fertility treatments more openly, as they are more common than many realize.

Our sources

Read more: Walz has conflated IVF and IUI when discussing his family. What’s the difference?