Republicans, pro-life advocates split on Trump's proposal to federally subsidize IVF

In vitro fertilization (IVF) accounts for only 2% of all U.S. births, but that hasn't stopped it from becoming a major campaign issue dividing some Republicans from their party standard-bearer, former President Trump, who recently indicated he would push for federally funding the procedures if elected.

But some Republicans and pro-life religious conservatives aren't fully on board with federally funded IVF procedures.

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., — a Trump ally — said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that he would rather support a tax-credit for IVF users "to encourage people to have children."

"We’ve been accused — the party has — of being against birth control," Graham, who voted with most Republicans against the Democrat-led Right to IVF Act this year that would have protected access to IVF this year, said. "We’re not. We’ve been accused of being against IVF treatments. We’re not."

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"I'll talk to my Democratic colleagues," he added. "We might be able to find common ground here."

Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that "all Republicans, to my knowledge, support IVF in Congress." 

"And there's no state that prohibits or regulates IVF in a way that makes it unacceptable," he said. "It is expensive for many couples. I understand that. So, it's something I'm open to, [and] that most Republicans would be open to."

Nearly all of California Republicans likewise voted against a Democrat-led bill last week aimed at expanding IVF access, too.

While former President Trump skirted attacks from his pro-life base last week for suggesting he may oppose Florida's six-week abortion ban — calling it "too short" — he later came out in opposition to Amendment 4, an initiative on the Sunshine State's ballot this November that critics say would enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution.

Trump also said he'd subsidize the costly IVF treatments, because "we want more babies," despite leaving abortion access up to the states. The Trump campaign did not directly respond to what constitutes a state issue versus a federal one when asked via email last week.

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"President Trump also supports universal access to contraception and IVF. Contrarily, Kamala Harris and the Democrats are radically out of touch with the majority of Americans in their support for abortion up until birth and forcing taxpayers to fund it," Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

IVF is a fertility treatment for couples struggling to have children that involves freezing eggs to use later for conception. But some religious pro-lifers believe the procedure is a moral dilemma. The treatments also cost tens of thousands of dollars per couple. 

Illume Fertility, a leading modern fertility treatment network, reported in May that when their clinic retrieves 12 eggs, approximately 80% — or nine to 10 eggs — are viable. Of these viable eggs, around 80% will successfully fertilize, resulting in about seven to eight embryos per patient, the report noted.

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Eric Sammons, executive director of faith-based magazine Crisis Pub, said, "No child created via IVF is evil any more than a child created via rape is evil. But that fact doesn’t make the method of creation good."

Live Action social media consultant Samantha D. wrote, "We still need to keep the pro-life pressure on Trump. Government funded IVF is CRAZY. So many lives will be lost."

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Lila Rose, the founder of Live Action, also sparked controversy last week for her comments suggesting she would not vote for Trump unless he made more public anti-abortion statements. She has also slammed the notion of funding IVF treatments. 

"Trump just announced his admin would either pay for IVF with tax dollars or force all insurance companies cover it," Rose wrote last week on X, "How is this morally different than the contraceptive mandate under Obama?"

An Alabama Supreme Court ruling earlier this year established that frozen embryos created in the IVF process are considered children. However, IVF treatments have a success rate of around 50% for women under 35, dropping further with age. To increase the likelihood of a successful pregnancy, critics argue that clinics reportedly create more embryos than needed, leading to the freezing or disposal of millions of excess embryos.