Balancing the demands of pro-life groups with the growing calls to make fertility treatment more affordable, President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled a new initiative aimed at lowering the cost of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and related infertility treatments for American families.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump announced that his administration had issued new guidance allowing employers to include IVF in their company insurance plans.
Participation will be voluntary, a senior White House official said, a measure designed to reassure religious liberty advocates and pro-life organizations that have long objected to IVF’s ethical implications. Critics argue that the procedure often results in the destruction of embryos, which they regard as human lives.
“In the Trump administration, we want to make it easier for couples to have babies, raise children, and start the families they’ve always dreamed of,” Trump said.
The president also revealed a new agreement — his third with pharmaceutical manufacturer EMD Serono — to slash the cost of fertility medications. Under the plan, the commonly used drug GONAL-F will be available at discounts of up to 796% for direct buyers through TrumpRx.gov, with even steeper reductions for low- and middle-income women. The administration estimates women could save about $2,200 per cycle on fertility drugs.
In addition, EMD Serono announced that it will begin manufacturing IVF drugs in the United States for the first time, pledging to offer what it called “deep discounts” on other medicines sold directly to American patients. The company will guarantee Medicaid programs access to the same reduced prices.
“Today, EMD Serono is proud to help President Trump deliver on his promise to you,” said Libby Horne, Senior Vice President of U.S. Fertility & Endocrinology, during the Oval Office event. “Thanks to the president’s leadership, EMD Serono has worked alongside distributors and other partners to help more families have access to services and innovations that are consistent with other countries.”
Infertility affects nearly 18 percent of adults worldwide, and American couples are facing rising rates of reproductive health challenges, from endometriosis and hormonal imbalances to male infertility.
Many experts argue that addressing underlying health conditions should take precedence over artificial conception methods.
Emma Waters of the Heritage Foundation said infertility “is a symptom of underlying reproductive health conditions,” pointing to a need for greater research and restorative reproductive medicine — an approach gaining interest among Americans who object to the destruction of embryos.
A June poll from the Heritage Foundation and JLL Partners found that a majority of Americans favor solving the root causes of infertility before turning to IVF, with many expressing opposition to the destruction of embryos.
Some pro-life groups cautiously praised Trump’s move for stopping short of government mandates or subsidies for IVF. “No subsidy and no mandate is a lot different [than] he sounded last fall,” one pro-life leader told The Daily Wire. “Still disappointed he is encouraging IVF at all, but happy it’s not a subsidy or mandate.”
Roger Severino, Vice President of Domestic Policy at the Heritage Foundation, said the initiative represents a broader shift. “It expands access to infertility cures that treat root causes and should cover restorative reproductive medicine,” he wrote on X. “That’s huge and very MAHA.”
Trump’s announcement underscores his continued effort to frame family policy around affordability and personal choice — while keeping faith-based voters, a key part of his coalition, firmly in mind.
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