Tim Walz Lied About IVF to Score Political Points

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Tim Walz Lied About IVF to Score Political Points

The New York Post reported that Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz clarified that she used intrauterine insemination (IUI) rather than in vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive her children, contradicting previous claims by her husband, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz. Tim Walz had repeatedly suggested, including during campaign events and fundraising appeals, that his family relied on IVF. The correction came after his comments led to widespread assumptions that IVF was involved. The Walz campaign said numerous times that IVF was part of their reproductive journey, misleading the public to score political points against Republicans. In August he said, “If it was up to JD Vance, I wouldn't have a family because of IVF.”

A selection of headlines where there was ample opportunity to correct the record:

Tim Walz’s personal story spotlights IVF. That could be a problem for Republicans. (Politico)

Harris campaign highlights Tim Walz family's IVF journey (USA Today)

For Tim Walz, the IVF Political Battles Are Personal (Time)

Tim Walz shares personal IVF story in first rally as Dem VP pick (News Nation)

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Slams JD Vance With A Deeply Personal Message About IVF (HuffPost)

IVF Saved Gwen Walz From Vance’s ‘Childless Cat Lady’ Fate (Daily Beast)

Even on the most basic fact of Trump and Vance not supporting IVF, Walz has been lying. The AP reported that former President Trump (and most Republicans) support IVF. Additionally, Vance has said he supports IVF.

From National Review:

The Walzes just clarified, however, that Gwen went through intrauterine insemination (IUI), a process that is much less contentious than IVF. IUI is “a fertility treatment that gives sperm a better chance at fertilizing an egg,” whereas IVF involves the creation of multiple fertilized embryos in a lab. When asked about the inconsistency, campaign spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg said: “Governor Walz talks how normal people talk. He was using commonly understood shorthand for fertility treatments.” A charitable explanation is that Walz felt the need to dumb down the specific fertility treatment his wife received; IVF is, to be fair, a more commonly heard term than IUI, but it is still a misclassification.

A couple’s fertility struggle is a deeply personal anecdote to use as a fundraising tactic — one that would be too personal to criticize, if not for the fact that the Walzes misrepresented it.

I asked a friend who has done both IVF and IUI for her thoughts:

TBH I’ve been thinking about the comparison of IVF to IUI, and there’s just no comparison. To start, IVF involves anesthesia; an entire team of healthcare experts and embryologists and geneticists; months and months of time and sanity; oh and there’s the inconvenient differentiator of what you’ll do with any remaining embryos (if you’re lucky enough to have any embryos at all) - any abnormal embryos - and the crushing debt that comes with treatment that averages 17K per cycle   

IUI can literally be done at home with an OTC insemination kit - there are dozens on the market.    

Whether you’ve spent one year or five years in the complex and hellish world of fertility treatments, you know that “IVF” is not a catchall term. 

Claiming - or even implying - to have raced and won the marathon that is IVF when in reality you participated in a walkathon is disingenuous and self-serving, at best.

How do those who have used IVF feel about the lie? Is this another case of stolen valor for Walz?