Speaker Mike Johnson on IVF after Alabama decision: “It’s something that every state has to wrestle with”

Washington — House Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday that in vitro fertilization and the handling of embryos remains an issue that “policymakers have to determine how to handle.”

“We need to look at the ethics surrounding that issue, but it’s an important one,” Johnson told “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil on Thursday. “If you do believe that life begins at conception, it’s a really important question to wrestle with.”

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, made clear his support for the “sanctity of life” as well as IVF. But he then said there’s an “ethical handling” of the issue that must be considered by states. 

“In some states, like in Louisiana, there’s a limit on the number of embryos that can be created because they’re sensitive to that issue,” he said. “But it’s something that every state has to wrestle with and I think Alabama has done a good job of it.”

The comments came after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation into law on Wednesday to shield IVF providers from legal liability after the state Supreme Court said in a ruling that embryos could be considered children under state law.

The ruling sparked outcry in Alabama and beyond, as the primary IVF providers in the state stopped offering the fertility treatment due to concerns of legal repercussions. The ruling prompted the state legislature to step in with the bill to protect providers from lawsuits and criminal prosecution for damage to embryos during IVF. 

Johnson, who rose to the speakership last year, is also set to gavel Congress in for President Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday evening. The address comes amid a chaotic time in Congress, as lawmakers have grappled with funding packages, including a national security package pushed by the White House that Johnson has stalled in the House. 

Since the Senate approved the measure, which would provide aid to U.S. allies including Ukraine, the Louisiana Republican has made clear that the House would forge its own path on national security funding. Republicans have pushed to have any additional funding for Ukraine be tied to enhanced domestic border security measures. But the situation in Ukraine has appeared to grow more dire in recent weeks. 

Pressed about how his approach has stalled funding for Ukraine in its war against Russia, and as Johnson is set to host the family of a U.S. journalist detained in Russia at Thursday’s address, Johnson reiterated that American priorities must be addressed first.

“No one in America wants Vladimir Putin to succeed, he must be stopped and we need all of our European allies and everyone in NATO to lend a hand, and they have been,” Johnson said. “But what I’ve told the President is what the American people demand and deserve — that we have to take care of our priorities first.”