Former President Donald Trump made a new campaign promise on Thursday, saying his administration would pay for in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments for “all Americans” or mandate that insurance companies pay for it.
Asked about IVF by a reporter before his rally in Potterville, Michigan, Trump said he was “always for IVF.”
“It’s helping women and men and families,” he said, adding, “We need great children, beautiful children in our country; we actually need them. Under the Trump administration, we are going to be paying for that treatment … for all Americans to get it.”
The Republican presidential nominee promised that either the federal government will pay for IVF or his administration will “be mandating the insurance company pay.”
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
Trump officially proposed the new IVF policy during his rally in Michigan, telling supporters, “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. 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,” he added.
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“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 IVF issue was thrown into the national spotlight in February when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are children. The ruling caused an uproar from Democrat and Republican politicians, including Trump, who called on the Alabama legislature to act to protect access to IVF.
“Under my leadership, the Republican Party will always support the creation of strong, thriving, healthy American families. We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder! That includes supporting the availability of fertility treatments like IVF in every State in America,” Trump wrote at the time. “Like the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of Americans, including the VAST MAJORITY of Republicans, Conservatives, Christians, and Pro-Life Americans, I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby. Today, I am calling on the Alabama Legislature to act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama.”
The Alabama legislature overwhelmingly passed legislation protecting access to IVF in the state and the bill was signed into law by Republican Gov. Kay Ivey.
Despite Trump’s support of IVF, Vice President Kamala Harris has attacked Trump over the issue and blamed him for the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling.
“He literally is the architect of this entire crisis,” Harris said in a video. “What happened in Alabama is a direct result of what happened in the United States Supreme Court. He hand-picked three members of the United States Supreme Court with the full intention for them to overturn Roe v. Wade.”
