Hillary Clinton Warns Far-Right Will Challenge Birth Control Next After IVF Ruling

After the Alabama Supreme Court sparked widespread controversy by claiming frozen embryos should be considered children, Hillary Clinton warned that conservatives will target the legality of birth control next. Instead of denying this, some far-right political activists seemed to confirm Clinton’s prediction by criticizing birth control.

Dire prediction

Warning, whisper, stop, secret — Illustration. Image credit: Depositphotos

“The extreme right won’t stop trying to exert government control over our most sacred personal decisions,” Clinton warned, “until we codify reproductive freedom as a human right.”

Dodgy decision

“Even before birth,” the state Supreme Court ruled, “all human beings have the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing his glory.”

Religious justification

Illustration. Image credit: Depositphotos

“We believe that each human being, from the moment of conception, is made in the image of God, created by Him to reflect His likeness,” the court asserted.

Immediate consequences

A few days after the ruling, the University of Alabama at Birmingham health care system decided to pause IVF treatments. It cited a need to review the potential legal repercussions of doing so after the new ruling.

Serious worries

Illustration. Image credit: Shutterstock

“We are saddened that this will impact our patients’ attempt to have a baby through IVF, but we must evaluate the potential that our patients and our physicians could be prosecuted criminally or face punitive damages for following the standard of care for IVF treatments,” a spokesperson explained.

Harsh criticism

“The decision in Alabama will have heart-wrenching consequences for women & their families,” the Health and Human Services Secretary, Xavier Becerra, said. “I’ve long made clear that overturning Roe was just the beginning of the attacks on women’s health, privacy, & autonomy — and that’s exactly what we continue to see.”

Clinton weighs in

Image by ifeelstock via Depositphotos.com

“They came for abortion first. Now it’s [in vitro fertilization], and next it’ll be birth control,” Clinton warned.

No problem

close up of conference meeting speacher gestures. Politician, businessman, law — Image by Depositphotos.com

“So what?” conservative activist Christopher Rufo wrote in response to predictions that birth control would be next. “The pill causes health problems for many women. ‘Recreational sex’ is a large part of the reason we have so many single-mother households, which drives poverty, crime, and dysfunction. The point of sex is to create children — this is natural, normal, and good.”

Totally wrong

“Sex is among the most popular recreational activities in the world, but I do hope that the conservative movement continues to be honest about their aims here, which are shared by no one except a handful of sad men with I imagine much-sadder wives,” Jill Filipovic responded on X.

Real Impact

Illustration. Image by Depositphotos.com

“Worth noting that contraception and safe abortion have saved millions of lives, been among the largest contributors to steep drops in infant mortality, and have led to large increases women’s education, financial power and national GDP,” Filipovic noted. “Which is why misogynists want to ban them.”

Fake news

According to Planned Parenthood, the pill is “very safe.” “There’s a good chance the pill will be totally safe for you — most people can take it with no problems. The pill has been around for more than 50 years, and millions of people have used it safely.”

Terrible future

One woman who previously used IVF to have a child told Mother Jones that the ruling “broke my heart.” “Most of the embryos that are discarded at a fertility clinic would not make a baby, they are embryos that don’t meet the criteria to be frozen,” she explained.

Fighting for justice

When asked what she would tell her daughter about the current situation, the woman said, “I will tell her that it’s her body and her choice to do whatever she wants with that. But there are men in this world that want to take that away from her. She needs to stand up to them and let them know that it’s not their choice of what she does with her body and her embryos and her future babies.”