Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday that he would vote to protect in vitro fertilization if Maryland voters send him to the Senate in November, or Roe v. He declined to say whether he would bring Wade under federal law.
The Republican candidate speaking at an Axios event in Washington he told the moderator that he didn’t even know [IVF] it was a matter of The Alabama Supreme Court declared human embryos last month in the state.
Hogan said he didn’t know if IVF would “ever come up” for a Senate vote and didn’t want to “speculate on what the legislation might look like.”
Pressed further on the matter, Hogan said he didn’t have a good answer What to do with embryos created in the IVF process, but not used. But he added: “I’m not an expert… I don’t think politicians should say that. [women and their doctors] what to do.”
Hogan added: “It’s a beautiful thing and should never be limited.”
In recent weeks, Hogan has made clear his opposition to a federal abortion ban, but on Thursday, he said he would not allow the 1973 Supreme Court to grant a national right to abortion until Roe v. He declined to say whether he would support legislation aimed at codifying the Wade case. It was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022.
“We’ll have to look at that as we go forward,” Hogan said of Roe’s codification, adding that he would have to consider “whether it’s necessary.”
“It was either yes or no [answer]”, he said when pressed on whether he would vote to codify Roe.
The responses show an unclear state and federal legislative landscape on reproductive health issues since the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision.
Hogan is the only major Republican hoping to fill the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardy in Maryland’s Senate race.
Although Maryland leans Democratic, Hogan served two terms as governor of the state, from 2015 to 2023, and has been widely reported to run for president in 2024.
He chose to enter the Senate race on February 8, just hours before Maryland’s filing deadline.
On the Democratic side, Rep. David Trone and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks are participating in the Democratic primary.
Democrats are expected to make abortion a centerpiece in this race and other battleground Senate races this cycle.
Maryland currently has no pregnancy limit for the procedure, and in November voters will vote on a ballot measure that would enshrine in the state constitution “the ability to make and exercise decisions to prevent, continue or terminate one’s pregnancy.”
“If Marylanders want to vote on this, they should have the right to do so,” Hogan said, adding, “They are already fully protected in Maryland.”