Trump’s executive order aims for more affordable IVF, fertility treatment
President Donald Trump’s executive order aims to know how IVF and other fertility treatments can be affordable.
- Despite campaign promises and executive orders, the Trump administration has not announced plans to expand IVF compensation and access.
- Trump’s executive order directed policy advisors to recommend ways to reduce IVF costs at the deadline passed in May.
- Trump has expressed his support for the IVF, calling himself the “father of the IVF” and has promised to cover the costs.
The White House has not announced plans for fertile treatments several months after the deadline for policy recommendations to expand access to in vitro fertilization.
In February, Trump signed an executive order directing policy advisors to make recommendations on how to reduce costs for IVF after committing to do so on the campaign trail. According to CBS News, the order gave the National Policy Council 90 days and gave the May 19 deadline.
On August 3, The Washington Post reported that an anonymous source said the White House had no plans to provide or request compensation.
Trump was once called “IVF’s Father” during the campaign because he pledged to find a way to cover the costs of treatment through government compensation or insurance company mandate. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for updates on possible policy plans.
What is IVF?
IVF is the process of combining sperm and eggs into the uterus in a laboratory and transferring them to the uterus, commonly used to help conception someone with fertility issues. Advocates of the treatment were worried that access to treatment could be threatened after the DOBBS decision in June 2022.
That fear was somewhat recognized in February 2024 when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that the embryo had a child’s legal status in a groundbreaking case. The Alabama legislature later passed a bill to protect IVF patients and providers.
Why is IVF controversial?
Approximately 2% of US births each year come from IVF pregnancy, which can be a life-changing procedure for people experiencing infertility who want to start a family.
However, this procedure has been opposed by many conservative Christians, several religious groups, who argue that life begins the moment the egg is fertilized and that humans should leave birth to God rather than science.
When the first IVF baby was born in 1979, a coalition of anti-abortion groups opposed this procedure. But that’s Roev. As it was after Wade’s decision, the embryos were treated as private property, and each egg and sperm donor could decide whether to implant, destroy, or pass the embryo without consequences.
What has Trump said about IVF in the past?
Trump has long supported the IVF, but surprised many conservatives with the campaign trajectory when he pledged to require insurance companies or governments to cover costs associated with the IVF.
“Under the Trump administration, your government will pay all costs associated with IVF treatment — or your insurance company will be required to pay,” Trump said at an August 2024 event.
At Fox News Town Hall in October, Trump called himself the “father of the IVF” and promised to compensate for a procedure that could cost tens of thousands of dollars.
When he returned to the White House, Trump issued an executive order in February dictating policy advisers to make recommendations on how to reduce the costs of the proceedings. The orders he signed had no immediate impact on the cost or access of treatment.
“We’ve been saying we’re trying to do what we have to do. I think the women and our family and our husbands are very grateful for that,” Trump said of the orders from his Mar-a-Lago Estate in Florida.
Contributors: Jessica Ginn, Bailey Schultz, Adriana Rodriguez, Liam Adams, John Kennedy, Trevor Hughes, Riley Beggin, USA Today Network
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA Today Network. Contact her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and Tiktok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
