The Trump administration is examining a list of suggestions to increase access to in vitro fertilization, according to a White House official who confirmed Tuesday, days after a blast outside a reproductive clinic in Southern California.
To “aggressively” reduce “out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment,” President Trump issued an executive order in February requesting measures to safeguard access. The White House Domestic Policy Council drafted the report within the past three months, according to White House spokesman Kush Desai.
“The Domestic Policy Council has completed its recommendations, and this is a key priority for President Trump,” Desai said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Desai failed to provide any further information on the report’s contents or the expected release date of the recommendations or strategy.
Not long after an explosion in Palm Springs damaged part of a reproductive clinic, the report was delivered to the president. A 25-year-old man is being held by the FBI as the bomb’s perpetrator. According to investigators, the guy’s writings reveal his anti-natalist beliefs, which include the idea that it’s ethically wrong to have children. The incident has been categorized as a terrorist attack by investigators.
After being a hot political topic during the 2024 US presidential contest, the popular reproductive therapy IVF was once again the focus of attention after the explosion.
Reproductive endocrinologist and in vitro fertilization expert Dr. Brian Levine of New York City stated that he anticipates state suggestions in the White House report and hopes that it advocates for more access to in vitro fertilization for federal employees and military personnel.
He commented, “I don’t think I’ve ever had this level of excitement for what the government is going to do,” referring to his 13 years of experience as a fertility specialist. In vitro fertilization (IVF) has never before been a top focus for the government. Patients will know that our voices are being heard at last. We have an issue with access to in vitro fertilization care in our nation, and both parties are acknowledging it.
After his Supreme Court appointees helped overturn Roe v. Wade, which had given a constitutional right to abortion for fifty years, Trump urged, while campaigning, for nationwide coverage of in vitro fertilization. In response to the ruling in 2022, some Republican-led states have enacted stringent regulations, with some even attempting to define human existence as beginning at conception in an effort to limit access to in vitro fertilization.
Trump promised throughout his campaign that women would no longer have to pay for fertility treatments, but he was vague about the specifics of his plan and how he would pay for them. Trump has boldly claimed responsibility for overturning Roe v. Wade, but abortion rights organizations replied that IVF would not be under jeopardy if that weren’t the case.
People frequently require more than one cycle of in vitro fertilization, which drives up the expense. A cycle might cost anywhere from $12,000 to $25,000. There may be gaps in coverage. It is partially covered by some plans, not covered at all by others, and entirely covered by some.
To safeguard access to in vitro fertilization, the majority of Americans favor it. About 60% of individuals in the US agree with that, according to a study conducted last year by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Many members of Trump’s own party have taken stands against in vitro fertilization because of Trump’s position. Despite Trump’s claims that Republicans have been a “leader” on in vitro fertilization (IVF), many Republicans are still trying to figure out how to support the procedure while also upholding party laws that recognize fetuses and embryos killed during IVF as having legal personhood.
GOP attempts to portray itself as accepting of in vitro fertilization have been thwarted by state legislators, Republican-controlled courts, anti-abortion party leaders, and those who oppose legislation that would safeguard access to in vitro fertilization.
Calling Trump’s remarks on in vitro fertilization “lip service,” Mini Timmaraju, CEO and president of the national abortion rights group Reproductive Freedom for All
“All Trump has done is stack his administration with extremists, restrict access to reproductive care, and implement the dangerous Project 2025 plan, which would threaten access to IVF nationwide,” she stated, describing Trump’s actions precisely.