Paxton distances himself as advocates criticize ‘out of touch’ GOP anti-IVF platform 

As Texas Republicans take a hardline stance on in vitro fertilization (IVF), the party’s Senate nominee is distancing himself from what advocates are calling an “out of touch” platform.

On the last day of the Texas Republican Party Convention in Houston earlier this month, thousands of delegates gathered to ratify the party’s updated list of priorities and establish a platform as midterms loom. Among measures defining homosexuality as a choice and formally denouncing sharia law, delegates passed a plank targeting in vitro fertilization.

The declaration calls for GOP lawmakers to “protect fetal life from destructive practices, such as IVF and commercial surrogacy.” It also calls for an end to “public funding for procedures that destroy embryonic life, including IVF,” and state tracking of embryo growing in Texas. It is not a set policy, but is intended to guide officials in the state’s ruling party in their legislative decisions with the Texas Legislature set to convene in January.

Republicans also used the convention to call for unity after a bruising primary between incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Paxton. Walls were adorned with messages such as “unity drives victory” as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott presented the nominee as the only viable candidate to defeat the “Austin woke agenda,” as personified by Democratic nominee James Talarico.

However, the plank seems to be out of step with some of the party’s top officials. Abbott has voiced support for the fertility treatments, although he has stopped short of lobbying for protections, and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz authored an ultimately unsuccessful bill designed to stop states from banning IVF. On Thursday, Paxton announced his opposition to banning IVF and affirmed his support for the practice. The strong statement came on the heels of criticism from Texas Democrats and Talarico’s campaign, who attacked the candidate for lacking a visible position on the issue.

“Strong families are the foundation of a strong nation,” Paxton said in a statement to the Observer. “Every child is a blessing, and every family hoping to welcome a child deserves support and compassion. I am a strong supporter of IVF and pro-family policies that help Americans experience the wonders of parenthood.” 

Unlike some of the latest polling for the Senate race, which shows Paxton in a dead heat with Talarico, public support for IVF isn’t as contested. The Pew Research Center found that only 8% of Americans opposed the treatment in 2024, while 70% supported it.

‘About more than IVF’

Advocacy against IVF treatments has increased in recent years among evangelical right-wing circles. As early as 2024, two Texas Republican county parties approved platforms targeting the treatments. That’s also the year that the Alabama Supreme Court brought IVF to the forefront of debate after issuing a ruling classifying embryos used in treatment as unborn children, opening the door to legal consequences for medical professionals.

While Alabama’s governor quickly signed a bill into law to protect medical professionals and reopen clinics, anti-IVF sentiment and “personhood” arguments have lingered. The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest protestant denomination in the country, formally opposed IVF in 2024, and multiple attempts to protect treatment in the U.S. Congress have been voted down by Republicans. In South Carolina, a 2025 bill unsuccessfully attempted to change the state’s health code to define “a human being that begins as a fertilized egg or zygote.”

Sophia Howard, an attorney with the ACLU of Texas, said that the Texas GOP’s plank must be understood as part of a wider debate over reproductive freedom. She also added that the measure sends a message to parents that “that their path to parenthood is less than valid.”

“It’s a further expansion on a general kind of goal of limiting reproductive care, and I think often limiting abortion access and IVF, those things can become kind of merged into one,” Howard said. “When you limit access to some folks’ reproductive rights and care, it can create a pathway to limiting that for just everybody,”

Close to one in six people are affected by infertility, with Pew study data showing roughly one-third of U.S. adults know someone who has received fertility treatment. In the aftermath of Roe v. Wade, advocates voiced concerns about the future of IVF, although attorney generals in states such as Oklahoma insisted that statewide abortion bans would not effect access to care.

In a statement, Planned Parenthood Texas Votes Executive Director Shellie Hayes-McMahon said the latest move from the Texas GOP “is about more than IVF.”

“It’s about time people realize that reproductive freedom is far more than just access to abortion,” Hayes-McMahon said. “The same politicians who want to control whether, when, and how people can end a pregnancy are now opening the floodgates to controlling whether, when, and how people can build their families, including LGBTQ+ families.”

Danielle Melfi, CEO of the National Infertility Association, also known as RESOLVE, said the plank could have a chilling effect. 

“It stigmatizes infertility and care, it prevents people from sharing their story, and prevents people from seeking the care that they need because they might not feel welcomed or supported by their church or by their community,” Melfi said. “It can restrict access, and I think that’s especially what we’ve seen with the Texas Republican Party’s party platform.”

She added that she remains optimistic about the future of IVF, and noted President Donald Trump’s visible support for the treatment both before and after his second election. Access to care has been at the forefront of Trump’s agenda, with the president signing an executive order in May intended to lower costs.

Support from prominent figures is like Paxton is enouraging, Melfi said, who called on “every Texas Republican” to take his lead.

“We hope the Texas Republican Party follows suit and really steps back from this extreme and out-of-touch part of their party platform and stands with Texas families who need access to IVF care,” she said.