Alabama Attorney General candidate Jay Mitchell says he is a strong supporter of access to in vitro fertilization (IVF), despite what some ads against him have been claiming.
Mitchell, a former Alabama Supreme Court Justice, ruled with the majority of the court in 2024 that under state law, frozen embryos can be considered children, making individuals responsible for their destruction legally accountable.
Mitchell wrote the majority opinion that “unborn children are ‘children’ without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics.”
Alabama Families for IVF has been releasing ads against Mitchell over the ruling, making the argument that it means he shouldn’t be the state’s next attorney general.
The spot claims Mitchell is out of step with President Trump, U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) and Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) and “thousands of Alabamians who want families.” The group has poured more than half a million dollars into the 30-second ads.
Tuesday on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program,” Mitchell argued that his ruling was actually about protecting families.
“Well, I support IVF, and I’m also in favor of protecting IVF families, which is what the Alabama Supreme Court decision was about,” Mitchell said. “Unfortunately, this group that’s popped up and running these ads, there are a lot of lies being told about the decision and about what we actually ruled on in that case, but I think the voters of Alabama are seeing through it very clearly.”
Two weeks after the ruling caused in vitro fertilization to come to a halt in the state, Governor Kay Ivey signed IVF protections legislation, after it received overwhelming support from the Alabama Legislature.
“I’m very thankful for President Trump and Senator Britt and the way that they’ve led these conversations,” Mitchell continued. “They’re important conversations to be had. When it comes to IVF, the artificial reproductive technologies, think they’ve done an excellent job of doing that, and when I’m Attorney General, I’m looking forward to partnering with them in those conversations.”
Mitchell said as Attorney General, he’s going to be focused on crime, immigration, and combatting radical Islam in the state.
“People are very concerned about violent crime in our state and making sure that that doesn’t get further out of control, especially in some of our cities,” he said. “Concerned about immigration, making sure that illegals who are here are being caught, are being apprehended or being sent home. And I’m hearing about radical Islam as well. You know, there’s real concern about conditions being created in our state, as we’ve seen happen in some other states, that might give rise to radical Islam. So those have been big issues. I’ve heard a lot about from the voters.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
