Haley Backtracks: I Did Not Agree with the Alabama Supreme Court When I Said Embryos Are Babies

KING: “You’re making news again today. You make news every day, Governor Haley, but today you’re making news because you agreed with the Alabama Supreme Court that ruled that embryos are people. And today you said, yes, you believe they’re people too. I think that troubled many people, especially women who are going through IVF treatments, we’re hearing reports already about fertility clinics that are shutting down because they’re worried. What do you say to women that are now concerned about that? And your position in that particular issue?”
Haley: “Well, first of all, I didn’t — I mean, this is — again, I didn’t say that I agreed with the Alabama ruling. What the question that I was asked is, do I believe an embryo is a baby? I do think that, if you look in the definition, an embryo is considered an unborn baby. And so, yes, I believe, from my stance, that that is. The difference is, and this is what I say about abortion as well, we need to treat these issues with the utmost respect. I had trouble having both of my children, I am very aware of what it means to go through artificial insemination, all of those things related to in vitro. I know what that is. And I also know the importance between a doctor and the parents is very important to have those conversations. This case was based on and should be based on the rights of those parents for their embryos and to make sure that they have the responsibility with the doctors on how those are handled. Nothing more than that. And I will continue to say, these issues keep coming up and everybody wants to divide people on these issues. This is not the time where you divide people. You bring people together. Our goal is to always do what the parents want with their embryo. It is theirs. So any physician that is in control of those embryos, they owe it to those people to make sure they protect that embryo and that they do with that embryo what those parents want done with that embryo. That is the way we should look at that situation.”