In multiple instances on Thursday, former President Donald Trump indicated that, if elected president again, he would require the government to pay for (or mandate that insurance companies provide coverage for) in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments to anyone seeking the procedure.
Trump’s comments come as he and the Republican Party face accusations from reproductive rights groups and the Democratic Party that their future actions would — and indeed, already have — threaten access to IVF for individuals and couples struggling with fertility. Critics have contended that Trump’s statements this week were a disingenuous attempt to appeal to a general field of voters who are broadly supportive of IVF, despite the fact that he still intends to enact far right policies restricting reproductive rights should he win another term in office.
Trump first stated his proposal for free IVF treatments in a brief interview with NBC News.
“We are going to be, under the Trump administration, we are going to be paying for that treatment. We’re going to be mandating that the insurance company pay,” Trump said.
Trump didn’t make clear which option specifically he would supposedly back — having the government pay for IVF treatments or requiring insurance companies to cover them. Nevertheless, the GOP nominee for president restated his supposed aims in a town hall held in Wisconsin and at a campaign rally in Michigan later that day.
Current attacks on IVF are due in part to Trump’s actions as president nearly four years ago, when he appointed three of the nine current Supreme Court justices who subsequently overturned abortion rights protections held in Roe v. Wade.
That ruling led to the Alabama State Supreme Court issuing its own ruling earlier this year that stated embryos had the same legal rights as living children — an action that resulted in IVF clinics throughout that state suspending their operations entirely, believing they could be held criminally liable for the disposal of embryos as part of the process of helping individuals to become pregnant.
In response to the negative national attention and condemnation from constituents across the state, the Alabama state legislature passed a bill giving immunity protections to IVF clinics, with Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signing the bill into law shortly after.
However, that law itself is not a complete failsafe — indeed, it merely provides legal protections for those clinics, and doesn’t amend the ruling by the State Supreme Court itself, allowing the dubious “fetal personhood” standard to remain in place. In theory, the same court could rule sometime in the future against the new law, overturning the IVF exceptions that were granted. Lawmakers who helped to swiftly pass the bill also noted that it was only a “temporary fix.”
Four states in the country have similar fetal personhood laws on the books, and around a third of states give legal recognition to fetuses at some point during pregnancy, leading many to worry that IVF could still be threatened in other parts of the U.S.
Trump’s promise for free IVF treatments under his administration this week could create a divide amongst Republicans. It will undoubtedly cause the most extreme anti-abortionists to reconsider giving their full support to him, for example, but his words could also cause a rift in the party from an economic standpoint, as Republicans have in the past opposed similar health care mandates relating to reproductive health.
Also fueling skepticism of Trump’s statements this week is the fact that Republicans also blocked legislation this summer that aimed to protect IVF treatments nationally through using the filibuster in June. Among the Republican senators who voted against the bill was Ohio Republican J.D. Vance, who is Trump’s presidential running mate.
Trump’s own recent statements are enough to cause skepticism over whether he’s sincere about protecting IVF or if he’s just saying so as an election ploy. He has, for example, expressed support for other restrictions on reproductive health, including stating his support for a nationwide abortion ban, only reversing course when it was made clear to him that the idea would be incredibly unpopular.
In May, Trump also said he backed a “states’ right” approach to reproductive rights, including the regulation of contraception, again, backtracking on his comments after they were met with widespread criticism.
In response to Trump’s statements on Thursday, the campaign for Democratic candidate for president Kamala Harris said that Trump’s “own platform could effectively ban IVF and abortion nationwide.”
“Trump lies as much if not more than he breathes, but voters aren’t stupid,” the Harris campaign added, noting that “IVF is already under attack” due to Trump’s actions that resulted in Roe’s overturn.
Other Democratic state governors also spoke out against Trump’s stated views on IVF.
“Donald Trump has made it very clear — multiple times, including in his own platform — that he wants to take every decision from you, especially if, when and how you start a family,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Michigan) said. “That includes IVF, no matter what he’s saying right before the election.”
“Trump can lie all he wants about IVF, but voters know his record,” added Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-New Mexico).
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