Trump proposes government or insurance companies pay for in vitro fertilization treatments

CNN
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Donald Trump said Thursday that as president he will implement a policy that will include funding for in vitro fertilization treatments. He did not specify how they would be funded.

“Today I am announcing in a major statement that under the Trump Administration, your government will cover all costs associated with in vitro fertilization treatments, or your insurance company will be required to cover them,” the former president said at a campaign event in Potterville, Michigan.

“Because we want to have more children, to put it very nicely. And by the same token, we will also allow new parents to deduct more of their newborn expenses from their taxes, so that parents who have a beautiful child can do so, so we are pro-family,” Trump continued.

“But IVF treatment is expensive. It’s very difficult for a lot of people to do it and get it, but I’ve been for IVF from the very beginning,” Trump added.

Trump did not specify how the treatment would be financed.

The new proposal comes as Democrats try to use threats against in vitro fertilization to portray Republicans, including Trump, as trying to restrict access to reproductive health care. Earlier this year, Trump said he supported women’s access to in vitro fertilization after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that recognized frozen embryos as children, prompting some providers to halt some in vitro fertilization services. In March, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed a bill protecting access to in vitro fertilization in the state after the court decision.

Earlier in his speech, Trump reiterated that he believes abortion policy should be determined by the states and that he supports exceptions in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is in danger.

Sarafina Chitika, a spokeswoman for the Harris-Walz campaign, questioned the sincerity of Trump’s new proposal.

“Donald Trump’s platform could effectively ban in vitro fertilization and abortion nationwide. Trump lies as much, if not more, than he breathes, but voters are not stupid,” Chitika said in a statement on Thursday. “Because Trump overthrew Roe v. Wade, IVF is already under attack, and women’s freedoms have been taken away in states across the country. There is only one candidate in this race who trusts women and will protect our freedom to make our own health care decisions: Vice President Kamala Harris.”

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez contributed to this report.