Donald Trump signs order making IVF more affordable, expands study: ‘Women and families very appreciative…’

United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order making in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment more affordable and pushing for studies on how to expand its access, according to a report by the AP.

Trump's order, signed on February 18, calls for policy recommendations to “protect IVF access and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments,” the report added citing the official White House statement.

Donald Trump Backs Universal Coverage of IVF Treatment

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

Even during his campaign to the White House, Donald Trump expressed support for universal coverage of IVF treatment. 

His comments came after Supreme Court judges (most nominated by him during his first term as US president) helped overturn Roe v. Wade. The judgement led to Republican-led states imposing restrictions on IVF and threatening access by trying to define life as “beginning at conception”.

‘Women and Families, Husbands, Are Very Appreciative…’ Says Trump

Addressing reporters at his Florida residence Mar-a-Lago, he said he thinks those inpacted “are very appreciative” of his IVF order. “I think the women and families, husbands, are very appreciative of it,” Donald Trump stated.

IVF offers women who have trouble getting pregnant a possible solution. IVF treatment involves retrieving a woman's 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 facilitate a pregnancy. The procedure is done in cycles, and may require multiple attempts.

Trump's Move Likely to Anger Republicans Who Pulled Roe v Wade

In 2024, Donald 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, as per the report.

(With inputs from AP)