Former President Donald Trump said Friday that he would "strongly support the availability of IVF" and called on lawmakers in Alabama to preserve access to the procedure. It was his first comments after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that led some providers to suspend in vitro fertilisation treatments and has divided many Republicans nationally over the issue.

Trump, in a post on his Truth Social network, said: "Under my leadership, the Republican Party will always support the creation of strong, thriving, healthy American families. We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder!"