Former President Donald Trump took a daring stance concerning IVF on Thursday as he promises to protect women’s rights while campaigning as a pro-family candidate.
Trump announced that if elected, he would make in-vitro fertilization (IVF) free for “all Americans that need it” either through the government or by mandating that all insurance companies must cover the treatment. Although he did not specify the details of his proposal, Trump said he is “doing this because we just think it's great and we need great children, beautiful children in our country.”
Trump announces new IVF policy
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) August 29, 2024
“Your gov’t will pay for or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for all costs associated with IVF treatment”
"We want more babies!"
What a concept - babies made in the USA instead of bringing in illegal aliens!
pic.twitter.com/iSUX7fszQY
The GOP candidate doubled down on his pro-IVF stance, saying he has always supported the treatment despite left-wing media claiming he wanted to ban it.
“Right from the beginning, as soon as we heard about it,” Trump said. “It’s helping women and men and families.”
IVF has been a point of tension after the Alabama Supreme Court paused treatments following its ruling that frozen embryos and fertilized eggs are considered people, and those who destroy them can be held liable for their death.
Following the state’s Supreme Court decision, Trump called on Alabama’s legislature to "quickly find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama.”
Many insurances nationwide do not cover the high cost of IVF and other fertility treatments, which can run at least $10,000 a cycle. Washington, D.C., New York, and Maine are just three of the 21 states that mandate insurance companies to cover the cost of IVF. The California Senate voted Thursday to require more insurers to pay for fertility treatment, which was cleared in a 30-8 vote.
Vice President Kamala Harris claimed that Trump would restrict women’s rights by limiting access to birth control and instilling a nationwide abortion ban.
However, Trump has made it clear that he would not enact a federal ban on abortions. He disagreed with Florida’s six-week abortion law, saying that it is too short and that there has to be more time.
“I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks,” Trump said at the time, suggesting he may support a 15-week abortion ban instead.
Last month, GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance (R-OH) was accused of voting to ban in vitro fertilization (IVF) after he and several other Republicans blocked the Right to IVF Act-- a Democrat-backed legislation that would have expanded access to and federalized a “right” to IVF. The bill failed in a 48 to 47 vote, but Democrats still claimed that Vance sought to ban fertility treatment despite nowhere in the bill stating it would “ban” IVF.
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