Gwen Walz, wife of Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), told CNN in a statement on Tuesday that they did not use IVF to have their children, as they previously claimed.
Instead Gwen said that their daughter Hope, was conceived using intrauterine insemination, known as IUI, a procedure typically used 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,” said Gwen. “The only person who knew in detail what we were going through was our next-door neighbor.”
Gwen described the process as “an incredibly personal and difficult experience.”
“She,” the next door neighbor, “was a nurse and helped me with the shots I needed as part of the IUI process,” said Gwen. “I’d rush home from school, and she would give me the shots to ensure we stayed on track.”
Gwen’s husband Tim previously claimed, “Thank God for IVF, my wife and I have two beautiful children.”
In February, a slate of Republican-appointed judges in Alabama ruled that embryos created in IVF were considered children, clobbering the procedure by increasing the risk that clinics may accidentally commit murder under Alabama’s abortion law.
Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) and wife, Gwen.
Mark Makela/Reuters
“After seeing the extreme attacks on reproductive health care across the country–particularly, the efforts in Alabama that jeopardized access to fertility treatments–Tim and I agreed that it was time to formally speak out about our experience,” Gwen added.
Harris campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg told CNN: “Governor Walz talks how normal people talk. He was using commonly understood shorthand for fertility treatments.”
On X, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) took shots at the Minnesota governor on the heels of Gwen’s statement.
Walz has previously found himself in hot water for lying about using “weapons of war,” that he “carried in war” when he was never deployed to an active combat zone.
Walz also claimed he “served overseas with his battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.”
Read More: Gwen Walz Walks Back Tim’s IVF Claim—JD Vance Attacks
