Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife did not use in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments in order to start their family, despite his multiple claims that the pair used it to start their family, multiple outlets reported.
Walz claimed in a March 4 post on X that he and his wife, Gwen, “have two incredible kids because of” IVF, and has repeatedly made similar claims while on the campaign trail. However, rather than using IVF, Walz’s wife used another common fertility procedure known as intrauterine insemination (IUI), which does not require embryos to be repeatedly created and discarded, she said in a statement obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Today it came out that Tim Walz had lied about having a family via IVF. Who lies about something like that? https://t.co/gKwUwgxHCD
— JD Vance (@JDVance) August 20, 2024
“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 said in the statement. “The only person who knew in detail what we were going through was our next door neighbor. She was a nurse and helped me with the shots I needed as part of the IUI process. I’d rush home from school and she would give me the shots to ensure we stayed on track.”
The Harris-Walz campaign claimed that the discrepancy was because he was using “shorthand” to describe the treatment, The New York Times reported.
“Governor Walz talks how normal people talk,’’ Mia Ehrenberg, a campaign spokeswoman, told the NYT. “He was using commonly understood shorthand for fertility treatments.”
Walz’s gubernatorial campaign also sent out a fundraising mailer in April that claimed he and his wife “used I.V.F. to start a family,” according to the NYT. Multiple outlets, including the NYT, The Associated Press and The Minnesota Star Tribune have published reports implying that his family relied on IVF.
Walz has been scrutinized for other discrepancies and misleading statements, including his military career.
Walz previously called for a ban on “weapons of war” that he claimed to have “carried in war,” according to a video posted by KamalaHQ on X. Despite the implication, Walz never saw combat as he reportedly left the service after he was notified that his unit was being deployed to Iraq.
Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio and running mate to former President Donald Trump criticized Walz for his military record, claiming he “abandoned” his unit.
“Well I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you ever in war?” Vance said during a campaign event. “What was this weapon that you carried into war given that you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq and he has not spent a day in a combat zone? What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage.”
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