Trump Signs Order to Study How to Expand IVF

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order to study how to expand access to in vitro fertilization and make it more affordable.

The order calls for policy recommendations to “protect IVF access and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments,” according to the White House. On the campaign trail, Trump called for universal coverage of IVF treatment after his Supreme Court nominees helped to overturn Roe v. Wade, leading to a wave of restrictions in Republican-led states, including some that have threatened access to IVF by trying to define life as beginning at conception.

According to a fact sheet provided by the White House, Trump’s IVF order will focus on prioritizing whether there are any current policies “that exacerbate the cost of IVF treatments.”

Last year, Trump declared public support for IVF after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. The decision, which some Republicans and conservatives cheered, touched off immediate backlash.

On the campaign trail, IVF quickly became a talking point for Trump, who said he strongly supports its availability.

In vitro fertilization offers a possible solution when a woman has trouble getting pregnant. The procedure involves retrieving her eggs and combining them in a lab dish with a man’s sperm to create a fertilized embryo, which is then transferred into the woman’s uterus in an attempt to create a pregnancy. IVF is done in cycles, and more than one may be required.

“I think the women and families, husbands, are very appreciative of it,” Trump said in brief remarks on the order, before he took questions on a variety of topics.

Barbara Collura, President and CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, said that what the White House put out “looks extremely promising.”

“The biggest barriers for people to building their families are the out-of-pocket costs, the lack of insurance coverage for this care,” she said.