Trump calls for free IVF treatments with no plan on how it would work

IVF Mix-up: Couple sues infertility clinic over wrong embryo

Two California couples gave birth to each others' babies after a mix-up at a fertility clinic and spent months raising children that weren't theirs before swapping the infants, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles.

Former President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he wants to make IVF treatments free for women if he wins in November, but he hasn’t said how the government would pay for it or how such a massive undertaking would work.

In-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments are notoriously expensive, and can cost tens of thousands of dollars for a single round. Many women require multiple rounds and there is no guarantee of success.

IVF takes eggs from a woman’s ovaries, then fertilizes them in a lab using collected sperm. IVF relies on the creation of multiple embryos, some of which may be destroyed. Anti-abortion advocates say the unused embryos equate to unborn children.

In the United States, 1 in 5 (19%) married women who are between the ages of 15 and 49 and have had no prior pregnancies are unable to conceive after one year of trying, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What Trump said 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," Trump said at an event in Michigan. "Because we want more babies, to put it nicely."

The latest IVF announcement comes as Trump faces intense criticism from Democrats for his role in appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion in the country. The decision has led to a wave of restrictions across Republican-led states, including proposals that have threatened access to IVF by trying to define life as beginning at conception.

Donald Trump says he wants IVF treatments to be paid for by the government or insurance companies, but he hasnt said how it will be paid for or how it would work. (Photo by IVAN COURONNE/AFP via Getty Images)

In the months since, he has repeatedly taken credit for his role in overturning Roe and called it "a beautiful thing to watch" as states set their own restrictions.

Trump first came out in favor of IVF in February after the Alabama state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law, briefly pausing treatment and sparking national backlash.

In June, Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would have made it a right nationwide for women to access IVF and other reproductive technology, and also would have made treatments more accessible by requiring employer-sponsored insurance plans and other public insurance plans to cover fertility treatments.

Trump has held multiple conflicting positions on abortion and reproductive rights over the years. After briefly considering backing a potential 15-week ban on abortions nationwide, he announced in April that regulating abortion should be left to the states.

In a statement, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign said Trump shouldn't be believed.

"Trump lies as much if not more than he breathes, but voters aren’t stupid," Harris-Walz 2024 spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said. "Because Trump overturned Roe v. Wade, IVF is already under attack and women’s freedoms have been ripped away in states across the country. There is only one candidate in this race who trusts women and will protect our freedom to make our own health care decisions: Vice President Kamala Harris."

What IVF costs in 2024

On average, IVF treatments cost about $20,000 in the U.S., according to a Nerdwallet report, and that’s whether or not it is successful.

RELATED: The cost of IVF in 2024

But the cost is largely dependent on where you live: Women in Michigan and Georgia told FOX TV Stations that they’ve paid more than $40,000 out of pocket for IVF treatments, which included medications, egg retrieval and embryo transfers.

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Trump hasn’t said how his administration would fund universal IVF treatments, or how he would force insurance companies to pay for them. Trump has in general been opposed to various kinds of federal mandates, and originally ran against the Affordable Care Act — also known as Obamacare — which included popular provisions like protections for people with preexisting health conditions.

It’s unclear how much universal IVF treatments would cost, but we do know the potential costs of Trump’s other proposals.

Trump’s economic plans would increase federal deficits by $5.8 trillion over the next decade, almost five times more than Harris’ proposals, which would add $1.2 trillion, according to two new studies from the nonpartisan Penn Wharton Budget Model.

Trump has proposed extending the 2017 tax cuts he signed into law when he was president, which will expire at the end of 2025. That package slashed the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and doubled the standard deduction and child tax credit, the Associated Press reported.

The 2017 package also temporarily cut personal and estate taxes, changes that benefitted wealthy people and businesses.

Trump told the AP that he wants to trim the corporate tax rate to 15% and cancel any tax hikes that happened under President Joe Biden.

According to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, extending the Trump tax cuts for the next 10 years — as Trump and the GOP have proposed — would add $4.6 trillion to the deficit.

Trump has also proposed eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits, but he hasn’t said how to make up the major loss in revenue. Trump’s proposal would add $1.6 trillion to the deficit and increase Social Security’s 75-year shortfall by 25%, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The think tank said it would also move the insolvency date of the Social Security trust fund – the fund that will trigger an automatic 17% cuts to benefits in 2035 – up by more than a year.