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“As someone who struggled to get pregnant, this is of personal importance so let me be clear,” Steel wrote in an op-ed in The Orange County Register. “I am aligned with most Americans on this issue. I believe life begins at conception.”
Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA) revealed she underwent In-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment to start her family as a way to clarify what she described as an attack from Washington insiders misrepresented her pro-life position.
“As someone who struggled to get pregnant, this is of personal importance so let me be clear,” Steel wrote in an op-ed in The Orange County Register. “I am aligned with most Americans on this issue. I believe life begins at conception.”
Steel, who represents California’s 45th congressional district that covers north Orange County and parts of Los Angeles County, shared her experience after removing herself from co-sponsoring a controversial bill aimed at ensuring equal protection under the law for the right to life of every human being.
The bill, known as the Life at Conception Act, which West Virginia Rep. Alex Mooney and 125 other Republican sponsors in the House initially supported defined the term “human being” to include “all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.”
But after a recent court ruling in Alabama that established that embryos can be classified as human children, lawmakers were put at odds over whether it could threaten the legality of IVF by defining life at the moment of conception.
Steel then withdrew her support to avoid confusion about her support for IVF.
“Having experienced it firsthand in starting a family, I am an ardent supporter of IVF,” she added.
The Republican Congresswoman made clear her belief in the sanctity of life and “that nothing is more pro-life than helping families have children.”
“That’s reasonable, and in today’s inflamed political environment, being reasonable is paramount,” she wrote. “It comes down to honesty and conviction. While not everyone in my district agrees with me, they always know where I stand on the issues.”
Critics and political opponents used Steel’s experience and legislative action as a way to divide voters over broader political dynamics where Republicans, traditionally against abortion, find themselves in a complex position with IVF.
“Unlike my opponents, I do not support harmful late-term abortions,” Steel said.
Steel, who emerged victorious in her primary election in March, is poised to compete against pro-abortion Democrat Derek Tran to represent CA-45 — a district held by Republicans but was won by President Joe Biden in 2020.
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