President Donald Trump‘s administration denied allegations that it is abandoning efforts to make in vitro fertilization affordable for American families, despite little progress on a campaign pledge that insurance would cover the cost.
“Has the president abandoned his campaign pledge to mandate insurance coverage for IVF services?” the Washington Examiner questioned White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a Friday afternoon press briefing.
“No,” Leavitt responded. “As far as IVF goes, I’ll check in with our policy team, and we’ll get you some updates.”
TRUMP FDA APPROVES NEW GENERIC ABORTION PILL, ANGERING CONSERVATIVES
In February, Trump signed an executive order that directed policy recommendations to protect IVF access and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments within 90 days. But that deadline has passed without the Trump administration releasing the outcome of those recommendations, raising some questions as to how serious the administration is about improving the nation’s lagging birthrate.
An August report from the Washington Post, citing anonymous sources, alleged that the White House was abandoning efforts to mandate IVF coverage through health insurance.
A White House spokesman, Kush Desai, told the Washington Examiner last month, “President Trump pledged to expand IVF access for Americans who are struggling to start families, and the administration is exploring every available tool to deliver on this pledge.” Desai added, “Further, we are working tirelessly to address the root causes of infertility and chronic diseases as part of our broader mandate to Make America Healthy Again.”
Conservative groups remain split on whether the administration should take the lead in lowering IVF through the federal government, objecting to the morality of assisted conception. These groups were further incensed this week after the Food and Drug Administration granted approval for a second generic version of the abortion pill mifepristone.
TEPID ECONOMY COULD BE THORN IN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S DESIRE FOR BABY BOOM
“This reckless decision by the FDA to expand the availability of abortion drugs is unconscionable,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion group SBA Pro-Life America. “These dangerous drugs take the lives of unborn children, place women and underage girls at serious risk, empower abusers, and trample the pro-life laws enacted by states across the nation.”
Leavitt claimed that the Health and Human Services’ decision is “not an endorsement of this drug by any means.”
“They are just simply following the law, and as they put out in their statement by law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services must approve a generic drug application if the application demonstrates the generic drug is the, quote, same as the brand name drug,” she continued.