ROCK HILL, S.C. — Former President Donald Trump called on the Alabama Legislature to pass a law to protect in vitro fertilization during a rally Friday at Winthrop University.

In a campaign stop on the eve of the South Carolina Republican primary, Trump questioned a recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that deemed embryos have the same rights as a living child.

Many couples who struggle to conceive children turn to in vitro fertilization, or IVF, to improve their chances of a successful pregnancy. The process involves fertilizing multiple eggs and implanting them in the would-be mother’s uterus one at a time. Oftentimes, this results in unused embryos, which are discarded, given to other people seeking children or donated to science.

The Alabama Supreme Court decision would make destroying embryos or using them for scientific research a crime. Several Alabama providers have said they would stop IVF treatments for fear of legal ramifications.

Trump has asked Alabama lawmakers to address the issue legislatively.

“The Republican Party should always be on the side of the miracle of life,” Trump told attendees, who responded with a standing ovation.

A sequel stop for Trump

Trump’s rally at the Winthrop Coliseum was return visit — he held a campaign event at the same venue during his first presidential bid in 2016.

Eight years ago, Trump drew a capacity crowd in the 6,250-seat arena, a show of support that foreshadowed his convincing win in the state’s primary. He won every South Carolina congressional district and all the state’s delegates in a victory that, coupled with his New Hampshire primary victory weeks earlier, propelled him into the Super Tuesday elections.

He formally captured the GOP nomination that May, outlasting Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Trump nearly packed the house at Winthrop again on Friday and the large crowd brought the raw enthusiasm that has come to mark his rallies. He called the Winthrop Coliseum a “lucky arena.”

S.C. voters ask ‘Nikki who?’

Attendees waiting to enter the Rock Hill rally had only one Trump opponent in mind, and that foil wasn’t Nikki Haley, the other Republican on the South Carolina primary ballot.

With baseball caps reading “BYEden” and chants of “Joe has to go,” the Trump loyalists waited patiently in a line that took 10 minutes to walk end to end. The chatter centered on Trump’s likely general election rematch with Biden and not the next day’s GOP primary.

Greenville resident Gabriel Schmidt offered a frequently heard response to questions about Haley, a South Carolina resident and former two-term governor: “Nikki who?”

Greene on the stump

A parade of elected officials warmed up the crowd ahead of Trump’s remarks. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke for four minutes, encouraging South Carolina voters to “send a message” to Haley and the Washington, D.C., establishment that Trump is the Republican champion.

“Tell them we won’t tolerate or elect a candidate who is delusional about her chances of becoming president,” Greene said. “Tell them you won’t support even the former governor of this state when she’s a Democratic rubber stamp.”

Trump thanked Greene during his remarks, calling her “very respected in Congress.” Greene has been a fixture on the campaign trail as a Trump surrogate. She spoke Thursday at a campaign event in Greenville, located a two-hour drive from Rock Hill, and told the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Greg Bluestein of her desire to serve as Trump’s Homeland Security secretary should he win the presidency.

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