Following President Donald Trump’s announcement last week detailing actions his administration is taking to “lower costs and expand access” to controversial in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures as well as other fertility treatments, numerous experts say that while the expansion of access to restorative reproductive medicine is commendable, the effort to expand IVF will contribute to the continued destruction of human life.
On October 16, the president announced a series of steps his administration will take to lower the price of fertility drugs such as Gonal-f, which is commonly used by women for IVF procedures in order to produce eggs for retrieval. In addition, federal agencies will also now assist employers with the option of covering standalone IVF health insurance plans. The measures come eight months after Trump signed an executive order promising that his administration would “expand access” to IVF.
The president noted in last week’s announcement that his administration “wants more babies” and is “pro family. … I’ve been in favor of IVF, right from the beginning.” In remarks from the Oval Office, he stated, “I think this is very pro-life. You can’t get more pro-life than this.”
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But experts point out that the process of IVF involves the destruction of human life on a vast scale. In order for the IVF process to give mothers a chance at a successful birth, most couples have up to eight embryos created in a single IVF cycle in a laboratory, but only a select few are implanted in the mother’s womb. The excess embryos are typically frozen indefinitely or discarded. In 2021 alone, approximately 4.1 million embryonic children were created via IVF, but only 97,128 of those embryos were born as live babies. Estimates suggest that over 97% of all embryonic children that are created are “discarded, miscarried, frozen indefinitely, or donated for use by others for experimentation.”
At the same time, the Trump administration’s initiative also called for employers to provide benefit packages for non-IVF fertility treatments that “address the continuum of fertility-related services” including “those that address the root causes of infertility.” Experts like March for Life President Jennie Bradley Lichter say that restorative reproductive medicine (RRM) “aims to resolve rather than ignore underlying medical issues, to increase health & wellness while also restoring fertility, and to respond to the beautiful desire for children while avoiding any collateral loss of human life.” RRM methods include NaPro Technology, FEMM, and the Billings Ovulation Method. There are numerous health centers across the country that practice RRM.
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility physician Dr. Lauren Rubel says that RRM methods are statistically more likely to result in births than IVF. “[There’s] a 37% chance of live birth per IVF cycle for everyone in the U.S., according to recent data,” she observed during a panel at the Pray Vote Stand Summit over the weekend. “With restorative reproductive medicine, there are studies showing a 30% to 66% chance of live birth over a period of two years using techniques that help restore your own health, your wellness, and decrease risk to moms and babies, too.”
Christian leaders like Arlington, Va. Bishop Michael Burbidge commended the administration for promoting optional fertility insurance benefits that provide “ethical fertility care” but also warned of the ethical and moral problems with IVF. “Thankfully, the White House has not introduced any federal mandate that medical insurance cover IVF, and these recent announcements do not directly violate religious liberty or conscience rights,” he stated. “Yet, the fact remains that IVF is contrary to the common good and therefore it is wrong for the federal government to promote IVF as if it were a morally neutral form of fertility care.”
Mary Szoch, who serves as director of the Center for Human Dignity at Family Research Council, told The Washington Stand that while the administration’s efforts to increase fertility should be praised, there is still time for the White House to change course on IVF.
“Countless American couples are hoping to conceive a child, and President Trump should be commended for his efforts to bring this good and godly hope to fruition,” she remarked. “The parts of Trump’s announcement that will expand access to restorative reproductive medicine should be commended. Restorative reproductive medicine addresses the root cause of infertility and improves the health of Americans while helping women carry a child to term. It promises couples the highest levels of health care, and it is the type of medicine Americans deserve.”
“At the same time,” Szoch continued, “I am incredibly saddened by the announcement that through the administration’s efforts, the IVF industry will expand. The IVF industry has preyed upon the hopes and dreams of so many American couples, promising them the gift of a child, but simultaneously failing to address the cause of infertility and destroying countless embryonic children or leaving them to an uncertain fate in a freezer. This industry is completely unregulated and offers no protections for the unborn children created in IVF laboratories or for parents who emotionally, physically, and financially invest significantly.”
“The details of this plan to increase fertility will certainly be hashed out in the upcoming months,” she concluded. “During that time, my hope is that the Trump administration does as it always has and prioritizes protecting the weak and vulnerable, while working to ensure Americans receive excellent health care.”
LifeNews Note: Dan Hart writes for the Family Research Council. He is the senior editor of The Washington Stand.
