U.S. President Donald Trump speaks, as he makes an announcement on the economy, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 7, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
When Donald Trump was on the campaign trail in 2024, he declared himself the "father of IVF" and promised to fund in vitro fertilization treatments for women experiencing fertility problems. Trump, at a town hall in October, told attendees, "We want fertilization, and it's all the way."
But Salon's Amanda Marcotte, in article published on August 8, lambasts Trump for reneging on that campaign promise. And she lays out some reasons why.
"The promise of free IVF allowed Trump to pretend anti-abortion policies weren't about punishing women, but was simply the result of his overwhelming love for babies and desire to see more of them," Marcotte explains. "Feminists were always skeptical, noting that many abortion opponents also despise IVF, because what motivates them is not 'babies,' but a desire to strip women of control over their bodies and lives…. This week, Trump officially broke his promise."
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The Salon journalist continues, "The White House admitted, after being contacted by reporters from the Washington Post, that there would be no attempts to provide free IVF. Again, that was predictable."
Marcotte emphasizes that Trump's "policy decisions" are being greatly influenced by white evangelical Christian fundamentalists and Project 2025 — both of whom, she says, hate IVF.
"The Christian Right has long opposed IVF, citing phony concerns about embryos destroyed in the process," Marcotte writes. "In reality, as I've written before, they resent IVF for the same reasons they loathe abortion and birth control — conservatives believe women should be enslaved to their biology…. Of course, Republicans know this position is unpopular, so along with White House officials, they pretended to back an 'alternative' they are calling 'restorative reproductive medicine.'"
Marcotte notes that "restorative reproductive medicine" (RRM) is being championed by the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 but argues that it is totally unscientific.
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"Pushing women toward RRM only wastes their time, making it less likely they will ever have a baby," Marcotte warns. "Digging deeper into RRM materials revealed an even more sinister agenda: Blaming women for their infertility through false accusations that it's caused by what the Christian Right sees as sexual sin. Or, put more bluntly, it's about shaming women for premarital sex and past use of birth control."
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Amanda Marcotte's full article for Salon is available at this link.