Minnesota's First Lady Gwen Walz is clarifying details about her fertility journey after accusations that she didn't go through IVF treatments. It comes with her husband, Governor Tim Walz, coming under fire from Republicans about statements he's made about fertility treatments.
Tim and Gwen have a 23-year-old daughter, Hope, and a 17-year-old son, Gus.
Hope was born in 2001 and graduated from college last year. They chose her name after seven years of fertility struggles.
Gwen Walz issued a statement Wednesday clarifying that she did not go through in-vitro fertilization after Walz repeatedly brought up the personal story of the the couple's fertility troubles on the campaign trail along side Vice President Kamala Harris.
Republicans have accused him of misconstruing his personal story to make a political point.
Gwen Walz also disclosed that they relied on a different process known as intrauterine insemination, or IUI, which is often attempted before IVF.
“Like so many who have experienced these challenges, we kept it largely to ourselves at the time – not even sharing the details with our wonderful and close family,” Gwen Walz said in the statement. “She was a nurse and helped me with the shots I needed as part of the IUI process.”
Amid claims from detractors that Governor Walz lied about their journey, Gwen Walz said that the governor was "using commonly understood shorthand for fertility treatments" and was not intentionally being dishonest.
Walz strongly opposes restrictions on in-vitro fertilization (IVF), which is opposed by some anti-abortion groups because it can require the destruction of embryos, because of his family’s experience. He criticized Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, saying “If it was up to him, I wouldn’t have a family because of IVF,” and his team earlier this year referenced his family’s “IVF journey” in a fundraising email.
In March, after an Alabama court halted in vitro fertilization procedures in the state, Walz decided to speak about his struggle to have children with his wife, Gwen. The same month, his team sent a fundraising email titled “our IVF journey” sharing an article that referenced “his family’s IVF journey” in the headline.
Mia Ehrenberg, a campaign spokesperson, defended Walz’s comments and denied that he had been misleading.
“Governor Walz talks how normal people talk,” she said. “He was using commonly understood shorthand for fertility treatments.”
Vance branded Walz a liar over his previous remarks on IVF.
“Today it came out that Tim Walz had lied about having a family via IVF. Who lies about something like that?” Vance wrote on social media.
The discrepancy on what is considered a deeply personal topic for many families comes as Republicans have been scrambling to poke holes in his biography. He has also faced scrutiny over how he’s characterized his time in the military, though his supporters reject any criticism as politically motivated.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.