What You Need to Know About Trump’s Executive Order on IVF

President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at reducing the costs of in vitro fertilization (IVF), making the fertility treatment more accessible to families facing infertility.

Here’s what you should know about the order and the procedure itself.

1. What Does Trump’s Executive Order on IVF Do?

• The order seeks to lower the costs of IVF, which can range from $12,000 to $25,000 per cycle.
• It directs policymakers to develop recommendations within 90 days to protect IVF access and reduce out-of-pocket expenses.
• The move comes after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos could be considered children, sparking nationwide debate.

2. Why Is IVF Important?

• IVF helps individuals and couples struggling with infertility conceive a child.
• It is often pursued after other, less costly fertility treatments have failed.
• The process involves retrieving eggs, fertilizing them in a lab, and implanting the embryo into the uterus.

3. Is IVF Covered by Insurance?

• Coverage varies widely based on insurance providers and employers.
• Larger companies are increasingly offering IVF benefits to attract employees.
• Medicaid and many smaller employers do not typically cover IVF, making it inaccessible for many families.

4. A Brief History of IVF

• The first successful IVF birth was in 1978 in England.
• The first U.S. IVF baby, Elizabeth Carr, was born in 1981 in Virginia.
• IVF clinics faced opposition initially, particularly from anti-abortion groups.
• Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, opposition to IVF has increased within certain anti-abortion circles.

5. How Are Embryos Created?

• Hormones stimulate egg production before retrieval.
• Eggs are fertilized in a lab using sperm, either by mixing them or injecting a single sperm into an egg.
• The fertilized eggs develop into blastocysts (early-stage embryos) over five to six days.
• Embryos can be implanted immediately or frozen for future use.

6. How Are Embryos Frozen and Stored?

• The freezing process replaces water in embryo cells with a protective fluid before flash-freezing with liquid nitrogen.
• Embryos are stored in specialized tanks at labs, reproductive medicine centers, or long-term storage facilities.
• Frozen embryos can be safely preserved for over a decade, with strict security measures in place to protect them.

7. Public Opinion on IVF

• A June 2024 poll found that 60% of U.S. adults support protecting IVF access, while only 10% oppose it.
• IVF remains a controversial issue, particularly in the context of abortion debates and legal definitions of embryos.

With IVF becoming an increasingly common fertility treatment, policy changes like Trump’s executive order could significantly impact accessibility and affordability for many families.

What You Need to Know About Trump’s Executive Order on IVF was originally published on b1057.com