Former President Donald Trump promised the federal government would cover in vitro fertilization treatments if he is reelected to a second administration.
“I’m announcing today in a major statement that under the Trump administration, your government will pay for, or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for, all costs associated with IVF treatment, fertilization for women,” Trump said Thursday afternoon during a rally in Potterville, Michigan.
“Because we want more babies, to put it very nicely, and for this same reason, we will also allow new parents to deduct major newborn expenses from their taxes,” Trump continued. “So that parents that have a beautiful baby will be able … so we’re pro-family. Nobody’s ever said that before. But the IVF treatments are expensive. It’s very hard for many people to do it and to get it.”
NEW POLICY ALERT
"I am announcing today that under the Trump administration, your government will pay for or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for all costs associated with IVF treatment."
"We want more babies!" pic.twitter.com/ZtsGkNUdl6
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 29, 2024
The GOP has struggled to navigate the political and electoral backlash over the loss of abortion rights after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
In addition, Democrat’s worries over a potential ban on IVF have galvanized them to attack Trump and the GOP as promoters of anti-family policies. The Alabama Supreme Court ruling that gave embryos the same status as a person earlier this year led to state IVF clinics temporarily shutting down to comply with the decision.
Republican lawmakers quickly rushed to defend their support of IVF. They blocked legislation introduced by Democrats that would guarantee a woman’s right to IVF but have proposed separate legislation protecting the procedure.
Trump has attempted to walk a fine line between appeasing Republicans who want abortion restrictions while not angering too many independents and swing state voters opposed to a federal ban as he battles Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency.
He first previewed his stance on IVF with NBC News and the Detroit News before he announced the policy at the Michigan rally. It is unclear how he would pay for the initiative.
Last week, Trump continued to soften his stance on reproductive matters.
“My Administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights,” he wrote in a Truth Social post.
It’s a risky move for a candidate whom evangelical leaders have long rallied around, although some have temporarily looked past it.
“The cause is way bigger and younger than Donald Trump,” wrote Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, on social media. “It will shape the GOP beyond this Trump moment. Nothing will deter this movement because it is about saving lives and truly serving women. The short term urgent threat? Harris-walz and all Senate candidates promising unlimited 6,7,8,9 month abortion as the only option for women.”
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Dannenfelser was part of a group of anti-abortion leaders who pressured the Trump campaign not to remove support for a federal abortion ban from the Republican National Committee’s platform. But at the behest of Trump, that language was struck from the document.
The Harris campaign has long attacked Trump over his appointment of justices who helped overturn Roe. At the Democratic National Convention, several abortion rights leaders addressed attendees and implored them to support Harris over Trump due to her support for protecting reproductive rights.
