IVF is expensive and Trump is ordering up ideas to make it cheaper : Shots

President Trump issued an executive order on Tuesday with the goal of expanding access to and lowering the cost of the infertility treatment known as IVF, or in vitro fertilization.

The order directs Trump’s assistant for domestic policy to come up with a list of policy ideas for “protecting IVF access and aggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment” within 90 days.

IVF became a hot campaign issue a year ago after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created by the procedure are “extrauterine children.” That led to a pause in IVF in the state until the legislature created a law making it clear IVF clinics couldn’t be legally liable if an embryo did not result in a live birth.

IVF is a process that involves retrieving eggs from ovaries, fertilizing them with sperm in a lab, and then transferring embryos into the uterus. IVF is expensive, with each round costing between $12,00 and $25,000, the order notes. Many couples need several rounds before they have a healthy pregnancy. Insurance coverage for IVF is spotty with a lot of state-to-state variation on rules.

In the wake of the Alabama ruling, Trump talked about IVF on the campaign trail, promising that IVF would be free for families, either paid for by insurance companies or the government.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted news of the order on X, saying “PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT.”

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wa., called the order “a PR stunt” on social media and said Republicans have blocked legislation multiple times that would make IVF more accessible and affordable for families.

The Catholic Church opposes IVF, and some Republicans support “personhood” laws that would give embryos rights and could have the effect of outlawing the treatment.