ICYMI: Ken Paxton walks back IVF stance, saying he’s open to restrictions that could limit access [Houston Chronicle]

AUSTIN, TX — Ken Paxton faces continued fallout for trying to lie to Texans about his position on IVF, after he announced at a right-wing conference that he backs restrictions that “could limit access to the treatment for many people who are trying to have children” and refused to support federal protections for the fertility treatment. 

Paxton backtracked on his position after barely a week, putting himself “closer in line with anti-abortion advocates and the state GOP, which recently adopted anti-IVF language into its platform, calling for lawmakers to address ‘destructive practices, such as IVF.’” Paxton’s reversal follows reports of extreme right-wing groups courting Ken Paxton as an ally for more severe restrictions on reproductive healthcare, including prosecuting women and criminalizing patients.

Read for yourself: 

Houston Chronicle: Ken Paxton walks back IVF stance, saying he’s open to restrictions that could limit access

July 2, 2026

By Casey Murray

• Attorney General Ken Paxton is walking back his full-throated support for in vitro fertilization, saying he backs restrictions that could limit access to the treatment for many people who are trying to have children. 

• Paxton told the Washington Examiner over the weekend that “we need to have restrictions, so that we don’t lose fertilized eggs, if that’s possible.”

• The stance puts him closer in line with anti-abortion advocates and the state GOP, which recently adopted anti-IVF language into its platform, calling for lawmakers to address “destructive practices, such as IVF.” The treatment has become a hot-button issue because it sometimes results in discarded embryos.

• Republican leaders, including Paxton, who is in a tight U.S. Senate race, have had to juggle those concerns with the party’s push to turn around the country’s flagging birth rate. 

• In response to the state GOP’s action last month, Paxton distinguished himself as a “strong supporter of IVF and pro-family policies that help Americans experience the wonders of parenthood.”

• But in his interview with the Examiner, he clarified that regulation regarding IVF needed to be examined. He also walked back his previous support for Cruz’s bill, the IVF Protection Act.

• “It’s easy to say I’d support a vote, but I would need to read the bill, find out exactly what it does, find out what protections are in there,” Paxton said.

• IVF was used more than 450,000 times across the country in 2024, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

• Democrats have emphasized their support for the procedure. Paxton’s Democratic opponent, state Rep. James Talarico, “stands with a majority of Texans by supporting IVF and defending Texas women’s right to control their own bodies,” his campaign spokesperson JT Ennis said in a statement. 

• “Ken Paxton has consistently pushed to criminalize women’s health care and put politicians in the middle of decisions that should be left to Texas women, their doctors, and their faith,” Ennis said. “That’s why it’s no surprise Ken Paxton is calling for restrictions on IVF, a safe, effective procedure that helps thousands of Texans start their families each year.” 

• Abortion is illegal in Texas, with no exceptions for rape or incest and with criminal punishments for those who help facilitate an abortion. Anti-abortion groups are now turning their focus to restricting medication abortions, and are debating more extreme policies such as banning IVF, surrogacy and criminal punishments for women who get abortions. 

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