Doctor tells MSNBC hosts why Tim Walz IVF comments are no scandal at all

Republican critics are quibbling over the fertility treatment that Tim and Gwen Walz were forced to use when they were trying to have children.

Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) and his wife have told the story several times about their difficulty having children and the procedures they were forced to go through. In the past, Walz has referred to it as IVF, in vitro fertilization, which has been banned in Alabama because embryos can be destroyed in the process.

In fact, the fertility treatment was IUI, intrauterine insemination.

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The Walzs have said that without the fertility treatment, they wouldn't have their daughter.

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) claims the couple is lying.

Speaking to MSNBC on Wednesday, Dr. Kavita Patel explained that both are types of fertility treatments that fall under a broader umbrella.

"IVF is more of a medical procedure," she said. "You take out a person's eggs and have that combined with sperm to create embryos, usually in a lab setting, and then put that embryo back into a uterus in order to hopefully facilitate a live birth and pregnancy. That's the outcome of also IUI."

IUI is just a different procedure that uses less anesthesia, she said, and "it still must be done under a doctor's supervision, in an office-case office-based setting."

"When I talk to patients about these fertility treatments, they often say 'Oh, yeah, I saw my IFV doctor.' Or, 'I got IVF.' Because, you're right, it is technically different but under the same umbrella. We're talking about access to healthcare, and the irony is that any of these treatments are under threat from the plan that Vance and Donald Trump have put together along with Project 2025."

A spokesperson for the Harris Walz campaign clarified Walz's comment, saying that IFV is a commonly understood shorthand for fertility treatments.

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