By Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Donald Trump called himself the "father of IVF" at a town hall for women voters on Wednesday, as the Republican presidential candidate tries to convince the crucial voting bloc they can trust him on reproductive issues.
Trump, who is trailing Democrat Kamala Harris in popularity among women voters ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. election, suggested he was eager to discuss the issue at an all-women event hosted by Fox News in Georgia. The state is among a handful likely to decide the election.
"I want to talk about IVF. I'm the father of IVF, so I want to hear this question," Trump said.
Hearing that some women were concerned about possible restrictions on fertility treatments, Trump touted his party's support for the procedure, even though some conservative Republicans do not support in vitro fertilization.
Senate Republicans blocked Democratic-led legislation designed to protect IVF access twice in recent months, with some Republicans arguing the legislation is unnecessary as IVF access is not in danger.
"We really are the party for IVF," Trump said. "We want fertilization that is all the way, and the Democrats tried to attack us on it, and we're out there on IVF, even more than them."
IVF emerged as a hot-button issue in the election after the conservative Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that embryos are children. That ruling left it unclear how to legally store, transport and use embryos, prompting some IVF patients to consider moving their frozen embryos out of the state.
Republicans nationwide scrambled to contain the backlash from the decision, while Democrats warned more reproductive rights could be under threat.
Trump's campaign described his "father of IVF" comment as a joke.
"It was a joke President Trump made in jest when he was enthusiastically answering a question about IVF as he strongly supports widespread access to fertility treatments for women and families," spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said.
Harris, when asked about Trump's comments, warned against being "distracted by his choice of words."
"The reality is his actions have been very harmful to women and families in America on this issue," Harris told reporters.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week, 49% of women who are registered to vote support Harris, while 40% support Trump.
Polls also show Americans broadly trust Democrats more than Republicans on reproductive rights.
Trump, who as president appointed three of the justices who made up the majority that ended constitutional protection for abortion, has said the matter should now be decided by individual states.
He also has said he would support making IVF free of charge, though he has not detailed how he would do so.
'ENEMY FROM WITHIN'
At times during the town hall, Trump returned to the dark language that has been a hallmark of many of his campaign stops.
Trump warned of the danger posed by an "enemy from within" - a phrase he has used before - and he called his opponents "evil."
"They're really very different, and it is the enemy from within, and they're dangerous," Trump said, while discussing his political foes.
Trump was responding to a comment from Fox host Harris Faulkner, who noted that Harris had criticized an interview Trump gave to Fox News on Sunday, during which he had called Democrats the enemy from within.
During that interview, Trump suggested that the National Guard or army could be deployed to handle "radical-left lunatics."
As he is out of office, Trump has no authority to order such a deployment though he repeatedly expressed interest in using the military to quell civilian protesters during his 2017-to-2021 term, according to former advisers.