Family Affair: Walz’s Wife Suggested She Underwent IVF

Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is under scrutiny for claiming to have conceived his two children through in-vitro fertilization, a false narrative he has used in a political attack on Republicans. But he’s not the only member of the Walz household who pushed that tall tale.

Gwen Walz suggested in a "Utah Women for Kamala" event held on Zoom on Aug. 15 that she used IVF to have kids, according to audio of the event obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

"[Donald Trump and J.D. Vance] have a plan to rip away more of our reproductive rights, including infertility and IVF treatments. And this is personal for me," Walz said. "If Trump had his way, I would have never become a mom."

While Walz did not specify which fertility treatment she received, she heavily implied that she underwent IVF. Two news outlets that covered the fundraiser initially reported Walz talked about using that treatment, which involves the fertilization of embryos. Though Trump and Vance have both spoken out in support of IVF, Walz’s claims that their policies would have prevented her from having kids echoes a Democratic line of attack on Republicans over an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that could be used to regulate IVF.

The Walzes used intrauterine insemination (IUI) to have their two kids, Gwen Walz told Glamour magazine days after the Harris campaign Zoom call. It’s a far less invasive procedure. Since it does not involve the fertilization of embryos as IVF does, IUI was not an issue in the Alabama Supreme Court case.

Gwen Walz’s comments gave the impression that she received the treatment. Utah News Dispatch reported that Walz spoke on the call "about how she and her husband struggled with infertility before fertility treatments, including in-vitro fertilization, helped them have their two children, Hope and Gus."

CNN reported that Walz described how she went through IVF. The network added a note to its story that Walz "did not specify what type of fertility treatment" she received after the Harris campaign asked for a correction, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Tim Walz, the left-wing governor of Minnesota, has gone even farther in claiming his children were conceived through IVF. Walz fundraised off "his family's IVF Journey" in an email to donors in March. "Thank God for IVF. My wife and I have two beautiful children," he told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki in July. Earlier this month, he accused Republicans of wanting to ban the procedure. "My kids were born through that way," Walz said in a video posted by the Kamala Harris campaign on Aug. 9, referring to IVF.

Walz’s fertility tale is the latest example of him embellishing his background during a heated political campaign. Walz falsely claimed during his run for Congress in 2006 to be a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, the war in Afghanistan, the Free Beacon reported. Walz served in the National Guard for 24 years but never saw combat. He deployed to Italy and Norway. Walz has also repeatedly claimed he retired as a command sergeant major, though he failed to complete the courses needed to maintain the rank.

Walz also appears to have lied in a case involving his arrest for DUI in 1995. Walz claimed he was not drinking and that he failed to comply with a police officer’s commands during a field sobriety test because he suffered hearing loss during his military service. Walz later admitted he was drinking on the night in question.

The Harris campaign has defended Walz, chalking the fertility treatment discrepancy up to "how normal people talk" about the issue. "He was using commonly understood shorthand for fertility treatments," said Harris campaign spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg.

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