More than 6 in 10 U.S. adults support protecting access to IVF, poll finds

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By COLLEEN LONG and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Relatively few Americans fully endorse the idea that a fertilized egg should have the same rights as a pregnant woman. But a significant share say it describes their views at least somewhat well, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The new survey comes as questions grow around reproductive health access in the continued fallout from the decision by the Supreme Court to end federal abortion protections. The poll found that a solid majority of Americans oppose a federal abortion ban as a rising number support access to abortions for any reason.

But anti-abortion advocates are increasingly pushing for broader measures that would give rights and protections to embryos and fetuses, which could have massive implications for fertility treatments and other areas of health care.

The poll suggests that when it comes to more nuanced questions about issues like in vitro fertilization, or IVF — which may be affected by the restrictive climate in some states, even though they were not previously considered as part of “abortion” — there is general support for reproductive health protections. But the poll also shows some uncertainty, as Americans are faced with situations that would not have arisen before Roe v. Wade was overturned.

According to the poll, about 6 in 10 U.S. adults support protecting access to IVF, a type of fertility treatment where eggs are combined with sperm outside the body in a lab to form an embryo. Views on banning the destruction of embryos created through IVF are less developed, with 4 in 10 adults expressing a neutral opinion.

“I believe that it’s a woman’s right to determine what she wants to do with her pregnancy, and she should be cared for. There should be no question about that,” said John Evangelista, 73. “And IVF, I mean, for years, it’s saved a lot of people grief — because they want to have a child. Why would you want to limit this for people?”

Earlier this year, Alabama’s largest hospital paused in vitro fertilization treatments, following a court ruling that said frozen embryos are the legal equivalent of children. Not long after, the governor signed legislation shielding doctors from potential legal liability in order to restart procedures in the state.

But the political damage was done. Democrats routinely cite IVF concerns as part of a larger problem where women in some states are getting worse medical care since the fall of Roe. They link delayed IVF care to cases in states with abortion restrictions, where women must wait until they are very sick in order to get care. Democrats say these issues show how GOP efforts to overturn Roe have profoundly affected all facets of reproductive care.

On the other hand, protections for IVF are supported by Americans across the political spectrum: About three-quarters of Democrats and 56% of Republicans favor preserving access to IVF, while about 4 in 10 independents are in favor and just under half, 46%, neither favor nor oppose protecting access. For some, their views have been shaped by personal experience with the procedure.

“I’m about to go through IVF right now, and you’re trying to get as many embryos as you can so you can have more chances at having one live birth, or more than that, if you’re lucky,” said Alexa Voloscenko, 30. “I just don’t want people to be having more trouble to access IVF; it’s already hard enough.”

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But the poll found that about 3 in 10 Americans say that the statement “human life begins at conception, so a fertilized egg is a person with the same rights as a pregnant woman” describes their views on abortion law and policy extremely or very well, while an additional 18% say it describes their views somewhat well. About half say the statement describes their views “not very well” or “not well at all.”

This view is in tension with some aspects of IVF care — in particular, fertility treatments where eggs are fertilized and develop into embryos in a lab. Sometimes, embryos are accidentally damaged or destroyed, and unused embryos may be discarded.

Republicans are about twice as likely as Democrats or independents to say that the statement about fertilized eggs having the same rights as a pregnant woman describes their views extremely or very well. About 4 in 10 Republicans say that compared with about 2 in 10 Democrats and independents.

And views are less clear overall on a more specific aspect of policy related to IVF — making it illegal to destroy embryos created during the process. One-quarter of U.S. adults somewhat or strongly favor banning the destruction of embryos created through IVF, while 4 in 10 have a neutral view and about one-third somewhat or strongly oppose it.

“Human life begins at a heartbeat,” said Steven Otey, 73, a Republican who doesn’t believe created embryos should be destroyed. “Embryos … can become babies, we shouldn’t be destroying them.”

About 3 in 10 Republicans and roughly one-quarter of Democrats favor banning the destruction of embryos created through IVF. Four in 10 Republicans — and nearly 6 in 10 independents — have a neutral view.

The poll of 1,088 adults was conducted June 20-24, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

Republicans are gathering in Milwaukee to nominate Donald Trump again. Here’s what to expect

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By BILL BARROW Associated Press

For all the usual stagecraft, the Republican National Convention that opens Monday is different from Donald Trump’s previous nominating affairs.

In 2016 and 2020, Trump was the underdog heading into fall and faced criticism from within his own party. This year, he will accept the Republican nomination with his party in lockstep behind him and Democrats in turmoil over President Joe Biden’s viability.

There will be the usual convention tasks throughout the four days. Delegates, almost 2,400 of them, must approve a platform and formally designate the presidential ticket: Trump and his yet-to-be-named running mate. They’ll hear from both national candidates and a slew of others rallying support for Trump and taking aim at Democrats.

The GOP expects a triumphant moment.

“The political environment is not only great for Donald Trump, but it’s really great for Republicans running for Senate, governor, House seats, all the way down,” said Henry Barbour, an influential Republican National Committee member who has sometimes criticized Trump in the past.

Here are some questions going into the convention.

Are there any dissenters left in the ‘Trump National Committee’?

Trump has buried his opponents and taken over the party. Voters get fundraising mail with “Trump National Committee” stamped above the RNC’s Capitol Hill address. Trump’s closest primary rival, Nikki Haley, will not see the convention stage. Instead, delegates will hear from, among others, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who ended his presidential campaign after the Iowa caucuses and immediately endorsed Trump.

“I don’t think there’s any comparison to his previous campaigns,” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Trump ally.

Most importantly, Trump is on offense against Biden and confident enough that his campaign promised in a convention preview that “President Donald J. Trump will usher in a new golden age for America.”

Who will be the pick for vice president?

Ever the showman, Trump has strung out his choice of running mate. The most-mentioned possibilities are North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance. Trump has mused that he’d love to withhold his pick until the convention begins — but he admits that idea frustrates his aides who want to preview the rollout. All three men, along with other contenders Trump has considered, are expected to address delegates at some point.

Will Trump reach for the middle or for his base?

Conventions are mostly about firing up core supporters. But they draw large television and online audiences that include the broader electorate. Trump’s campaign has outlined daily messaging aimed at both audiences, with themes that riff on Trump’s red-hat motto: “Make America Great Again.”

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Monday’s theme is economics: “Make America Wealthy Once Again.” Trump has outlined an agenda of sweeping tariffs and ramped-up production of oil and gas, even though it already hit a record under Biden. He argues that his plans to deport millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally will bring down inflation, which has fallen from higher levels earlier in Biden’s presidency.

Tuesday, it’s immigration and crime: “Make America Safe Once Again.” Trump and Republicans believe the border debate is among their strongest issues. They have arranged speeches for the family members of slain people in which immigrants in the U.S. illegally face criminal charges, as part of Trump’s broader attempts to blame crime on border policies.

Wednesday is national security day: “Make America Strong Once Again.” Delegates and the viewing audience can expect to hear arguments that Biden is a “weak” and “failed” commander in chief and head of state. This is the day, typically, that vice presidential nominees address the convention.

Thursday will culminate with Trump himself: “Make America Great Once Again.”

Will Trump focus on Biden and the future or on election lies?

The takeaway for most observers, regardless of all the careful planning and choreography, will be what Trump himself says in his acceptance address. In 2016 in Cleveland, Trump offered a dark indictment of American life and insisted, “I alone can fix it.” The populist, nationalistic pitch enraptured his backers but did not necessarily help him expand his appeal.

Republicans across the party want Trump to take advantage of Biden’s struggles by explaining his ideas for a second presidency. That means sidestepping his most incendiary, racist rhetoric. And, yes, it would mean not repeating his lies that the 2020 election was fraudulent or spending time complaining about the criminal prosecutions against him.

“He needs to avoid the politics of division,” said Barbour.

Of course, that would also mean Trump taking a decidedly un-Trump approach.

Will the party go along with Trump’s wishes on abortion?

If there is any notable dissent on the floor, it may come over the platform provision stating that abortion policy should be left to state governments. That’s what Trump wants two years after the conservative U.S. Supreme Court majority he helped cement overturned the precedent establishing a federal right to abortion services.

Anti-abortion activists — and Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence — want Republicans to call for federal restrictions on abortion. There’s no question that Trump controls the votes to ratify the proposed platform. A public fight would play into Democrats’ contention that the GOP wants to effectively ban abortion access nationwide — part of their wider argument that a second Trump administration would be extreme on many policy matters.

What role will Melania Trump and other family play?

Trump family members are expected to speak at some point. Donald Trump Jr. has been a top surrogate and forceful defender for his father in recent months. But daughter Ivanka Trump has been much quieter since leaving her role as White House adviser during Trump’s term. Former first lady Melania Trump is expected to be in Milwaukee but it was not clear as of early Friday whether she will speak. She has been notably absent from the 2024 campaign, a stark contrast to first lady Jill Biden’s role for her husband.

Will the protesters outside matter?

Protest groups won’t be permitted inside the security zone established around the convention arena by the Secret Service. But they’ll get as close as they can and attract at least some media attention.

Principles First, which describes itself as a nationwide grassroots movement of pro-democracy, anti-Trump conservatives, is holding a rally Wednesday. Speakers include former Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele.

The Democratic National Committee is holding events in Milwaukee as well, promising daily news conferences, counterprogramming and voter outreach in the Democratic-dominated city. Democrats intend to highlight Biden’s accomplishments on the economy and juxtapose the president’s advocacy for democracy and international alliances with Trump’s criticism of NATO, praise of authoritarian leaders and quips about being a dictator on “day one.”

Democratic-aligned groups, including United We Dream Action, the Service Employees International Union and America’s Voice, are going even further, with bilingual mobile billboards around the RNC site urging voters to reject “Trump’s fascist agenda.”

Key takeaways from Biden’s news conference: Insistence on staying in the race and flubbed names

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By JOSH BOAK and NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden faced a test Thursday that he had avoided so far this year — a solo news conference with questions from the White House press corps.

The news conference was meant to reassure a disheartened group of Democratic lawmakers, allies and persuadable voters in this year’s election that Biden still has the strength and stamina to be president. Biden has tried to defend his feeble and tongue-tied performance in the June 27 debate against Republican Donald Trump as an outlier rather than evidence that at 81 he lacks the vigor and commanding presence that the public expects from the commander in chief.

He made at least two notable flubs, referring at an event beforehand to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin” and then calling Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump” when asked about her by a reporter. But he also gave detailed responses about his work to preserve NATO and his plans for a second term. And he insisted he’s not leaving the race even as a growing number of Democratic lawmakers ask him to step aside.

Here are some highlights from the press conference:

He bungled key names — and remained defiant

Perhaps Biden’s biggest slip-up in the press conference came early on when he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump,” in saying he picked her because he believed she could beat Trump.

Even before the news conference, Biden had bungled an important name at the NATO summit and instantly lowered expectations for his performance.

“Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” Biden said as he was introducing Ukrainian President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is most definitely not Russian President Vladimir Putin. The gaffe immediately prompted gasps, as Biden caught himself and said to Zelenskyy: “President Putin? You’re going to beat President Putin.”

But he was defiant when a reporter brought up his reference to “Vice President Trump” and noted the presumptive Republican nominee’s campaign was already promoting the slip-up. “Listen to him,” he said, before walking off the stage.

One House Democrat, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, issued a statement minutes later calling on the president to withdraw.

He insisted, ‘I’ve got to finish this job’

It’s a delicate dance between the president and vice president, with many Democrats openly pining for Harris to replace Biden on the ticket. Biden didn’t acknowledge that tension, but only brought Harris up in response to pointed questions about whether he believed she had the capability to replace him.

“I wouldn’t have picked her unless I thought she was qualified to be president,” Biden said, citing Harris’ resume from prosecutor to the U.S. Senate.

But in response to a later question he acknowledged he’d moved on from his 2020 campaign promise to be a “bridge” to a new generation of Democrats. “What changed was the gravity of the situation I inherited,” he said, without a word about his vice president.

Repeatedly, he said, “I’ve got to finish this job.”

The press conference ended with Biden being asked directly whether he’d step down for Harris if he saw polling showing she had a better chance of beating Trump. “No, unless they come back and said there’s no way you can win,” Biden responded. Then he added, in a stage whisper, “No poll’s saying that.”

He argued he’s delivered results over rhetoric

Biden tried to make the case that what he’s doing matters more than how he talks about it.

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He praised the just finished NATO summit as elevating America’s standing. “Have you ever seen a more successful conference?” Biden said to a group of reporters who often only got to see the conference during prepared remarks.

He drilled down on how inflation has eased from its 2022 peak as he reeled off stats such as the creation of 800,000 manufacturing jobs under his watch, saying that world leaders would want to trade their own economies for what United States has. He also said he would cap how much rent could grow for tenants of landlords who are part of a tax-credit program for low-income housing.

It’s the same pitch Biden has made in stump speeches without necessarily doing much to move his own popularity. His team believes it will sink in if repeated constantly.

He brought up his work on NATO

Biden kicked off the press conference by talking at length about NATO and its value to the United States — one of his strongest political issues against Trump, who has been openly skeptical of the alliance and once suggested he’d encourage Russia to attack NATO members whom he considered delinquent.

Biden tied himself to an American tradition stretching “from Truman to Reagan to me” of defending NATO. “Every American must ask herself or himself, is the world safer with NATO?” he asked.

Later, to assure a European journalist asking about governments on that continent worrying Trump could win, Biden launched into a detailed recounting of how he helped shepherd Finland into the alliance. After that, he went into detail about how to push back against China for supporting Russia during its war against Ukraine and contended he will continue to be able to deal with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Overall, Biden spoke forcefully and fluently about foreign policy, one of his favorite subjects. But the news conference’s focus wasn’t really foreign policy, it was reassuring Democrats and the world that Biden is still able to be president and beat Trump.

That shows how even Biden’s strengths are being overshadowed by questions about his capabilities.

When possible, he went back to the stump speech

Every politician has a stock set of lines. And whenever Biden could, he went back to his favorite talking points. It was a way to answer the question without necessarily needing to say anything spontaneous or new.

He went after trickle-down economics, borrowing a line about his father never benefiting much from tax cuts aimed at the wealthy (“I don’t remember much trickling down to his kitchen table”). He hailed Delaware for leading the country in corporations. He said he’s the “most pro-union labor president in history.” He explained his decision to run for a second term with a variation on his “finish the job” catchphrase. He went into his standard spiel about computer chips.

With no time limit on his answers like he faced at the debate, Biden went on for several minutes at a time telling stories about his interactions with foreign leaders and making the case for his reelection.

He answered questions in detail — unlike at the debate

There were few fireworks in Biden’s answers — with the highly anticipated event at times coming across as more of a think tank lecture than an effort to grab voters’ attention. He went into granular detail on geopolitics and rattled off numbers — asking at one moment, though, to not be held to the precise figure.

While it didn’t erase the stumbles and blank stares from the debate, it showed that he could engage with reporters’ questions on a range of issues without losing focus.

There was still regular coughing and throat clearing. And at times he lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper that evoked the rasp of his voice on debate night.

Overall, his presentation was a reminder that people are focused on him now with an almost clinical eye toward possible slip-ups and mistakes, the kind of pressure that is unlikely to go away for as long as Biden insists he’ll stay in the race.

Riccardi reported from Denver.

Data of nearly all AT&T customers downloaded to a third-party platform in security breach

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By MICHELLE CHAPMAN

The data of nearly all customers of the telecommunications giant AT&T was downloaded to a third-party platform in a 2022 security breach, the company said Friday, as cyberattacks against businesses, schools and health systems continue to spread globally.

The breach hit customers of AT&T’s cellular customers, customers of mobile virtual network operators using AT&T’s wireless network, as well as its landline customers who interacted with those cellular numbers.

AT&T said that it currently doesn’t believe that the data is publicly available.

“The data does not contain the content of calls or texts, personal information such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or other personally identifiable information,” AT&T said Friday.

The compromised data also doesn’t include some information typically seen in usage details, such as the time stamp of calls or texts, the company said, or customer names. AT&T, however, said that there are often ways using publicly available online tools to find the name associated with a specific telephone number.

An internal investigation determined that compromised data includes files containing AT&T records of calls and texts between May 1, 2022 and Oct. 31, 2022.

AT&T has more than 100 million customers in the U.S. and almost 2.5 million business accounts.

The company said Friday that it has launched an investigation and engaged with cybersecurity experts to understand the nature and scope of the criminal breach.

Compromised data also includes records from Jan. 2, 2023, for a very small number of customers. The records identify the telephone numbers an AT&T or MVNO cellular number interacted with during these periods. For a subset of records, one or more cell site identification number(s) associated with the interactions are also included.

The company continues to cooperate with law enforcement on the incident and that it understands that at least one person has been apprehended so far.

The year has already been marked by several major data breaches, including an earlier attack on AT&T. In March AT&T said that a dataset found on the “dark web” contained information such as Social Security numbers for about 7.6 million current AT&T account holders and 65.4 million former account holders.

Some auto dealerships are still using pens and paper to close deals after back-to-back cyberattacks last month on a company that supplies them with software. That company, CDK Global, is still attempting to reestablish normal operations.

Alabama’s education superintendent said earlier this month that some data was “breached” during a hacking attempt at the Alabama State Department of Education.

Cybersecurity experts are warning that hospital systems around the country, which have already been targeted, are at risk for more attacks and that the U.S. government is doing too little to prevent breaches.

AT&T customers can visit att.com/DataIncident for more information.

Shares of AT&T Inc., based in Dallas, fell slightly on Friday.

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