Former President Donald Trump has unveiled a new policy proposal that would require either the government or insurance companies to cover the costs of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments.
“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,” he said during at an event in Michigan. “Because we want more babies, to put it nicely.”
Former President and current Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks about the economy, inflation, and manufacturing during a campaign on August 29, 2024, in Potterville, Michigan.
Getty Images
When pressed on whether the government or insurance companies would be responsible for covering IVF services, Trump reiterated that one option would involve mandating insurance companies to pay.
“We’re going to be mandating that the insurance company pay,” Trump stated.
BREAKING: President Trump announces that his administration will either pay for IVF or mandate that all insurance companies cover the treatment:
“Under the Trump administration, we are going to be paying for that treatment, so we are paying for that treatment…all Americans… pic.twitter.com/jg0zgIre8Z
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 29, 2024
IVF, a fertility treatment, has become a contentious issue in the 2024 campaign.
Democrats have taken aim at Republicans up and down the ballot, arguing that GOP-led abortion restrictions could lead to limitations on IVF as well.
The issue gained renewed attention after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that embryos should be considered people, leading some clinics in the state to suspend IVF services. This ruling has sparked a nationwide debate over reproductive rights and access to fertility treatments.
In recent months, Republican lawmakers have faced significant backlash over measures that critics say limit access to reproductive health care, including IVF. The issue was central in Democratic campaigning during the 2022 midterm elections.
Trump’s proposed policy seems to be a move to counteract this negative perception by showing his support for fertility treatments, which are crucial for many families.
After the Alabama ruling in February, Trump took to Truth Social, declaring his intention to “make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder!”
However, as the campaign enters its final stages, the campaign for Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, has dismissed Trump’s concerns, stating that the former president had “appointed an openly anti-IVF judge to the federal bench and has not ruled out signing legislation that could threaten IVF access for families across the country.”
Medical workers and IVF patients listen during a news conference on access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments outside the U.S. Capitol Building on June 12, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Trump made the announcement while campaigning in Michigan and Wisconsin, ramping up his battleground state travel heading into the traditional Labor Day turn toward the fall election.
Trump has focused on trying to recapture the states he won in 2016 but narrowly lost in 2020, as he continues to adjust to the reality of his new race against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
He stopped in Potterville, Michigan, on Thursday near the state capital of Lansing, where he railed against the Biden administration over inflation, accusing Harris and President Joe Biden of presiding over “an economic reign of terror” and “committing one financial atrocity after another.”
Trump narrowly won Michigan in 2016 before losing it to Biden in 2020.
