DCCC - Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

12/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/08/2024 18:25

IVF Cuts Through Tom Kean Jr.’s “Pro-Choice” Facade

POLITICO : "Access to [IVF] was not part of the national debate even a few years ago. But it is now at the forefront of the 2024 election"

In new reporting from POLITICO this morning, Sue Altman is slamming Tom Kean Jr. for his refusal to stand up to the extremists in his party targeting reproductive rights and essential procedures like IVF.

Specifically, Kean has refused to back a bipartisan bill that would protect IVF nationwide, choosing instead to sign onto a so-called "pro-IVF" stunt resolution that was deemed "useless" because it doesn't actually do anything to protect the procedure."

Before Dobbs, Tom Kean Jr. swore to fight abortion "every step of the way." While he may lie to his constituents to win reelection, he's still every bit the same extremist. In Congress, Kean Jr. has sided with the most far-right politicians in his party and voted to punish doctors and chip away women's constitutional freedoms by voting for national restrictions on women's reproductive rights.

DCCC Spokesperson Aidan Johnson:
"Tom Kean Jr. falsely bestows the "pro-choice" label onto himself and thinks he's in the clear to help MAGA extremists in Washington rollback women's reproductive freedoms at every available opportunity. New Jersey voters can see through this cynical charade, and if they can't trust Kean Jr. to protect essential treatments like IVF, why would they trust him on anything else?"

  • New Jersey Democrat Sue Altman started hammering her House GOP opponent over in-vitro fertilization after an Alabama court put the issue in the national spotlight earlier this year.

  • She has not let up since, accusing self-described pro-choice Rep. Tom Kean Jr. of not standing up to "extremists targeting reproductive rights."

  • Amid Altman's attacks, he introduced a bill Friday to provide generous income tax credits for people to help afford the fertility treatment.

  • That Kean even has to defend himself shows how drastically the election landscape has changed since Altman entered the race last May. Access to the fertility treatment was not part of the national debate even a few years ago. But it is now at the forefront of the 2024 election following the Alabama ruling that frozen embryos could be considered people (the state quickly ushered in new laws that blunted the most severe impacts of the court's decision).

  • Tim Walz, the newly selected running mate of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, shared last week how he and his wife depended on IVF treatment to conceive their daughter. It's the latest example of how reproductive rights has become a central campaign issue following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 ruling overturning Roe v. Wade's abortion protections, though Republicans have generally been more accepting of IVF access. Still, a faction of conservatives oppose the treatment, raising a new debate over Republican support for reproductive rights.

  • Democrats across the country have raked in electoral success running on abortion rights since 2022, and Altman's increasing focus on the issue in New Jersey's most competitive House race could provide a test case on how effective the message is - and potentially determine control of the House.

  • Altman has criticized Kean for not backing a bill by Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) that would explicitly set up protections for the fertility treatment in federal law. That bill has four GOP co-sponsors - all of whom are from competitive House districts, but Kean is not among them.

  • "…to me, it shows that Tom Kean Jr. completely lacks [a] backbone, and he will not stand up for the women of the 7th [congressional district]," Altman said in an interview with POLITICO.

  • Altman has issued statements and social media attacks on Kean over IVF since the Alabama state Supreme Court ruling, even calling Kean's support of the "Increasing Value for Families" bill "weird and gaslighty" since it does not provide protections for IVF itself. While Speaker Mike Johnson has expressed support for IVF, he said in March that Congress does not "need to play a role" and that states would regulate it.

  • It's not the first time reproductive rights has been a focal point in the 7th district. In 2022, abortion rights featured prominently in the race between Kean and then-Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.) who lost his reelection bid.

  • Kean was also criticized for what was described as a "hidden" webpage in 2022 that claimed he would be a "fierce defender of the sanctity of life."

  • The debate over IVF access comes amid the broader fight over reproductive rights - like abortion access, which is expected to feature prominently in the New Jersey congressional race. Altman said that codifying the former Roe v. Wade abortion standard, which allowed abortions until fetal viability, was "the floor of the conversation." She also dismissed claims from the Kean campaign that she supported "unrestricted abortion" throughout pregnancy.

  • "There are precious few women who decide to carry a pregnancy all the way for nine months and then out of nowhere, abort it," she said. "That is a myth, that is not a problem, and the fact that the GOP continues to use that as a talking point … like that's some sort of scientific fact, is extremely frustrating."