### VP Harris Criticizes Trump's Claim of Being "Father of IVF" Amidst Reproductive Rights Debate

Vice President Kamala Harris took aim at GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's surprising claim that he is "the father of IVF" during a rally in Wisconsin on Thursday. The rally centered around reproductive rights, and Harris criticized Trump's choice of Supreme Court justices, which led to the revocation of federal abortion rights.

During the rally, Harris accused Trump of failing to recognize the negative impact of his actions on reproductive health care, including in vitro fertilization (IVF). She also played a video clip of Trump expressing support for IVF, to which she responded with skepticism and laughter. "Now the man calls himself 'the father of IVF,'" Harris said, laughing. "I mean, what does that even mean?"

Trump made the startling statement at a Georgia town hall meeting on women's issues, hosted by Fox News' Harris Faulkner. He claimed, "We really are the party for IVF. We want fertilization, and it's all the way. And the Democrats tried to attack on it, and we're out there on IVF, even more than them, so we're totally in favor of it."

Harris highlighted how Trump has proudly touted his role in overturning Roe v. Wade by appointing three conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. This action has led to a wave of abortion bans in various states.

Reproductive rights advocates argue that the fall of Roe v. Wade could jeopardize access to fertility treatments in conservative states. For example, the Alabama Supreme Court recently ruled that frozen embryos should be legally regarded as "children," prompting fertility clinics to stop offering IVF treatments. Shortly thereafter, the state legislature passed a bill to protect IVF treatments in Alabama.

Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump, clarified to The New York Times that the "father of IVF" remark was not intended to be taken seriously. "It was a joke President Trump made in jest when he was enthusiastically answering a question about IVF," she said.