Trump's IVF order: Democrats allege 'PR stunt' as anti-abortion groups bristle
Democratic lawmakers are decrying President Donald Trump’s recent order on in vitro fertilization as nothing more than a “PR stunt,” while anti-abortion groups bristled over a move that follows Trump's campaign promise to make the procedure free.
Trump issued an executive order Tuesday directing the assistant to the president for domestic policy to give him a list of policy recommendations on protecting IVF access and “aggressively” lowering out-of-pocket and health plan costs for the procedure.
Democrats called on him to do more, perhaps looking to call his bluff.
"If he is actually serious about taking real action to accomplish his own campaign promise to make IVF free for everyone, there’s a simple way he can prove it: He can call on Senate Republicans to immediately back my Right to IVF Act that would require insurance plans to cover IVF,” said Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) in a statement.
“Otherwise, it’s all just lip-service from a known liar.”
Duckworth has long worked to create safeguards for the treatment that she used to conceive her two daughters after struggling with infertility for more than a decade. The Illinois senator reintroduced the Right to IVF Act last year, along with Democratic Sens. Corey Booker (N.J.) and Patty Murray (Wash). It sought to create a statutory right for Americans to access in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments.
Senate Republicans again blocked the bill, calling it an election year stunt by Democrats, with some offering alternative legislation. A bill from Florida Sen. Rick Scott sought to expand health savings accounts to make it easier for people to save funds for IVF.
Murray has also publicly criticized Trump for his IVF order, which she called an empty gesture.
“Let's be clear: this PR stunt does NOTHING to actually expand access to IVF. Republicans created this mess by overturning Roe and they've blocked legislation MULTIPLE TIMES that WOULD make IVF care more accessible and affordable for families. Give me a break,” she wrote in a post on the social media platform X.
Members of the Congressional Reproductive Freedom Caucus argued Wednesday that Trump could have better shown his commitment to fertility treatments by directing federal agencies to expand IVF coverage for employees, veterans or service members. He could have also proven his commitment by urging House Speaker Mike Johnson and then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to pass the Right to IVF Act last year, according to a statement released by the caucus co-chairs.
“Donald Trump is not serious about protecting people’s right to build their families on their terms," wrote Representatives Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass). “Yesterday’s inaction does not change that.”
But anti-abortion advocates who are against IVF argued for Trump to do the opposite — veer away from widening access to the procedure.
During IVF, doctors fertilize an egg with sperm in a lab to create a human embryo, which is then inserted into the mother’s uterus. Doctors will often retrieve multiple eggs from the ovary in preparation for IVF and fertilize multiple eggs at once, creating multiple embryos, to increase the odds that a transfer will result in a pregnancy.
Embryos that are never used are then stored, donated or destroyed.
Some anti-abortion advocates, who believe life begins at conception, oppose IVF because the process may involve the destruction of unused embryos.
Students for Life of America leader Kristan Hawkins admonished Trump for his IVF order before it was even signed.
“Rumor is President Trump is getting ready to release something about IVF funding...please stop and study the IVF Industry, which is disturbing as it preys on desperate families, kills humans in the embryonic stage and promotes eugenics,” she wrote in a post on X early Tuesday.
Lila Rose, president of the pro-life advocacy group Live Action, also took issue with Trump’s order, arguing that IVF treatment is “NOT pro-life” in a post on X.
Leadership from one anti-abortion group — Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America — had a more measured response to Trump’s order, admonishing the destruction of embryos while calling on his administration to do more.
“SBA Pro-Life America does not object to ethical fertility treatments paired with strong medical safety standards that help couples struggling with infertility,” a statement issued Tuesday reads. “We also believe human embryos should not be destroyed. Rogue practitioners who switch human embryos, fail to follow basic safety standards, or negligently destroy human embryos desired by couples must be held to account under any federal role in fertility treatment.”
The group also said it hopes the administration will at least consider health and safety precautions for couples trying to conceive and for embryos when crafting affordability recommendations requested by the order.
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