The Trump administration confirmed Tuesday that it is reviewing a list of policy recommendations aimed at expanding access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and lowering its costs, following a February executive order. The report, compiled by the White House Domestic Policy Council over the last 90 days, reached President Donald Trump just days after a bombing outside a Southern California fertility clinic. Authorities have described the attack, which damaged a Palm Springs clinic, as an act of terrorism, with the suspected assailant holding anti-natalist views.
The White House spokesperson, Kush Desai, stated that expanding access to IVF is a “key priority” for President Trump, but did not specify when the recommendations or a plan would be publicly released. The ongoing deliberations in Washington mirror efforts at the state level, with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin recently signing a bill that requires the Health Insurance Reform Commission to consider IVF coverage as an essential health benefit. This came despite Youngkin’s attempt to include a religious or ethical opt-out for non-governmental health plans, which the legislature rejected. In Georgia, a bill to codify a right to IVF in state law passed a House committee and was signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp on May 1, with Republican Rep. Lehman Franklin citing his family’s own experience with IVF.
However, the expansion of IVF access has ignited strong opposition from some pro-life advocates who raise significant ethical concerns regarding the process. Jon Speed, an abortion abolitionist activist, has shifted his focus from protesting outside abortion facilities to fertility clinics, viewing IVF from what he calls a “child sacrifice perspective,” according to a February 25 article in World magazine.
World magazine’s estimates, based on national data from 2022, suggest a substantial loss of human embryos within the IVF process. Their analysis indicates that more than a dozen embryos die, are discarded, or are frozen for every single baby born through IVF. In 2022 alone, an estimated 1.3 million embryos went unaccounted for, a figure Speed asserts is “worse than abortion,” noting that the Guttmacher Institute reported an estimated 1.037 million abortions in 2023. Speed describes his conversations with couples considering IVF as initially constructive, but becoming more confrontational since the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that considered frozen embryos as children.
Pro-child organizations such as Them Before Us and Students for Life of America have also condemned the push for IVF expansion. Patience Sunne, engagement director of Them Before Us, stated that “IVF has made a business of violating the rights of children,” highlighting that many IVF-conceived babies are genetically screened out, discarded as medical waste, or remain frozen indefinitely. Jordan Estabrook of Students for Life of America argued that “IVF may masquerade as pro-life, but it’s anti-life. In fact, IVF kills more children than abortion.” These groups urge politicians to consider the ethical implications for unborn children and the unregulated nature of the industry, questioning whether supporting IVF means supporting the “disposal of human beings in vast quantities.” The Alabama Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling that allowed families to sue IVF providers for embryo destruction led some clinics to temporarily halt services due to liability concerns.
Despite these ethical debates, proponents of increased IVF access emphasize its importance for families struggling with infertility. Dr. Brian Levine, a New York City reproductive endocrinologist, expressed excitement that IVF is now a “priority at the highest levels of the government,” signaling that patient advocacy is being heard across the political spectrum.
Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA), in a May 19 opinion piece for Fox News, highlighted that approximately a quarter of active-duty service members and military spouses report infertility, double the national average, often due to the physically demanding and stressful nature of military service. She advocates for mandated TRICARE coverage for IVF, noting that current military health insurance only covers fertility services if a service-connected injury or illness can be proven, leaving many families with significant out-of-pocket costs.
The average cost for a single IVF cycle ranges from $12,000 to $25,000, and multiple cycles are often required, making insurance coverage critical for accessibility. While Trump has called for universal coverage on the campaign trail, critics from abortion rights groups argue that IVF access would not be threatened if not for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Amidst these varied viewpoints, a 2024 poll from The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicated that approximately six out of ten U.S. adults support protecting access to IVF.
