Trump's push for free IVF may attract suburban women, but questions about covering cost

As former President Donald Trump works to court suburban women, his campaign is working to change the narrative around his position on reproductive rights, now with a sweeping new policy proposal on IVF -- in vitro fertilization.

In recent weeks, Trump has weaved conversations on abortion rights into his regular campaign messaging, including posting sporadic statements about reproductive rights, declaring his administration will be "great for women and their reproductive rights" and offering clarity about IVF.

"I'm announcing today, in a major statement, that under the Trump administration, your government will pay for, or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for, all costs associated with IVF treatment," he said at a campaign stop Thursday in Potterville, Michigan.

"We will also allow new parents to deduct major newborn expenses from their taxes, so that parents that have a beautiful baby will be able, so we're pro-family," he added, raising questions about practicability.

After consistently bragging about being responsible for the Supreme Court's decision to overrule Roe v. Wade, Trump's IVF policy demonstrates a rebrand to focus on women's reproductive rights -- a key voter issue driving suburban women to the polls and that has been a spotlight since the court overruled the constitutional right to abortion that had been the law nationwide for almost 50 years.

This election cycle, seven states, including the critical battleground states of Arizona and Nevada, will vote on abortion-related ballot initiatives in November.

Trump has repeatedly expressed support for IVF -- yet his stances on abortion and some of the other issues revolving around reproductive rights, such as access to the abortion pill mifepristone, have wavered at times over the past year.

Earlier this year, when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are "children" with constitutional rights to life, leading many clinics in the state to temporarily pause IVF services. Soon after the decision, Trump came out in support of IVF, saying, "I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious little beautiful baby."

"​​​​I'm calling on the Alabama legislature to act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama and I'm sure they're going to do that," Trump said at a campaign event in February.

However, the former president has provided no detail about how such a costly IVF plan would work, given treatments are expensive and used by many families.

In Trump's proposal he argued that the government or insurance companies would be under a mandate to pay for the treatments. Currently, many families using the treatment pay high out-of-pocket costs as IVF typically is not covered by private insurance plans or Medicaid programs.

A single IVF cycle can range anywhere from $12,000 to $30,000, depending on the center and the patient's individual medication needs, according to a report from Forbes. Nearly 90,000 infants were conceived using assistive reproductive technology in 2021, according to a Health and Human Services report from earlier this year.

Trump, who has been saying he will "very quickly" reduce the national deficit, has announced multiple proposals this year that financial and policy experts say would add trillions to the national debt, including individual and business tax cuts as well as eliminating taxes on Social Security for seniors.

But he has not answered how he would make up for the loss in federal revenue, simply claiming his previous administration brought in billions thanks to his large tax cuts, even as Trump himself has been questioning how Vice President Kamala Harris' proposal to provide a $25,000 down payment assistance to first-time home buyers will be paid.

Democrats were quick to criticize Trump's policy announcement, pointing to Republicans who have blocked legislation protecting IVF treatments, including Trump's own running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who has made several comments about the country needing to become more "pro-family."

Vance did, however, sign on to a joint statement led by Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and Katie Britt expressing support for continued nationwide access to IVF.

Vance, who has become the Trump campaign attack dog, was also asked about the former president's comments on making IVF more accessible but, just like Trump, did not provide specifics on how insurance companies or the government would pay for the treatment.

"All details get worked out in the legislative process, and we're not in the legislative process because we haven't won yet," Vance said on CNN Friday morning. "But I think that President Trump, again, just believes that we wanted women to have access to these fertility treatments."

When asked about abortion, Vance has reiterated Trump's stance of wanting states to make decisions on the issue while also often adding the caveat that there are other issues beyond reproductive health that Trump wants to focus on.

"President Trump has been extremely consistent that he wants abortion policy to be made by the states -- Florida, California, Ohio -- they're going to have different approaches. That's OK," Vance said on CNN.

"What he wants is to focus on eliminating inflation, bringing down the cost of groceries and housing, and closing down that southern border that Kamala Harris opened up. That's where he's focused and that's where we'll continue to focus for the remainder of the campaign."

The Harris-Walz campaign is capitalizing on the moment, announcing on Friday morning that they will be doing a reproductive rights bus tour in the battleground states starting in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday.