‘We want more babies’: Trump says government or insurance should cover IVF costs

Last Updated 1 week by Amnon J. Jobi | Amnon Front Page

Former President and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is doubling down on his support for in vitro fertilization.

Speaking at a rally Thursday night in Michigan, Trump said if he wins a second term in office, that his administration wants to make IVF treatment free to all women.

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“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. “Because we want more babies to put it very nicely and for the same reason we will also allow new parents to deduct major newborn expenses from their taxes.”

IVF addresses fertility issues in women by fertilizing an egg with sperm in a laboratory. However, many women require multiple rounds of treatment and a single round can cost tens of thousands of dollars with no guarantee of success.

Trump’s proposal comes as he has been attempting to present himself as moderate on the issue of women’s reproductive rights and quell the backlash he’s received over the reversal of Roe v. Wade by a Supreme Court with three Trump appointees.

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Meanwhile, for the first time in 40 years, the Republican Party last month also eliminated a federal abortion ban from the GOP platform, instead throwing support behind Trump’s political position of leaving each state to render its own laws.

It’s unclear how much this change has to do with the former president’s stance or whether it’s a response to recent ballot initiatives affirming abortion rights in several historically red states.