CBS News
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg says IVF “shouldn’t be up to politicians in the first place”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that it is important that President Biden communicates in the State of the Union on Thursday directly to the American people about the administration’s accomplishments and future plans.
Buttigieg said this year’s State of the Union, the third of Mr. Biden’s presidency as he looks ahead of the likely November rematch with former President Donald Trump, gives Mr. Biden an opportunity to underscore the positive impacts of his policies.
“This is a chance for the president to talk about the strides that our economy has made under his leadership, adding more jobs than any president ever,” Buttigieg told “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil. “It’s a chance to talk about how things like the bipartisan infrastructure law that he led are now leading to improvements to roads, bridges and more in every part of this country. Issue after issue where we’ve got to talk about what we’ve done and where we’re headed. I’m looking forward to the president making that case this evening.”
Despite inflation outpacing wage growth, Buttigieg credited Mr. Biden for helping wages grow and keeping inflation lower than in the world’s other leading economies.
“Right now, wages are growing faster than prices,” Buttigieg said. “It takes awhile to feel that, for sure, and different households are in different circumstances. That’s why the president has been so focused on lowering costs for everyday life.”
Another topic likely to come up in the State of the Union is reproductive rights and in vitro fertilization in the wake of the 2022 Dobbs decision and the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision that frozen embryos are considered children. Mr. Biden has called that decision “outrageous and unacceptable,” and among first lady Jill Biden’s guests on Thursday will be an Alabama woman whose IVF treatment was halted after the February decision and Kate Cox, a Texas woman who had to travel out-of-state to receive an abortion her doctors said was medically necessary.
Buttigieg said that concerns over IVF treatments “shouldn’t be up to politicians in the first place.”
“Alabama is the first place where IVF started to be blocked. It won’t be the last, and this has been the agenda of congressional Republicans for as long as I’ve been alive. I personally believe that the question of when life begins is a theological or moral or philosophical question, not to be decided by politicians, but that the decisions — especially decisions about a pregnancy — should be made by women,” said Buttigieg.
“I trust women to make those decisions, so does the president, and he is going to make that clear tonight,” Buttigieg said. “And like most Americans, believe that is something to be decided by families an their doctor. Not politicians around here.”
CBS News
The Uplift: Steve Gleason and more
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
CBS News
Eye on America: Inside an extreme sports camp, and a look at how libraries are innovating
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
CBS News
Former New York Gov. David Paterson, stepson attacked while walking in New York City
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.