President Donald Trump made a major decision for in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments and their accessibility in his latest executive order.
As reported by Associated Press, on Tuesday, February 18, Trump signed an executive order to expand access and reduce costs of IVF, with instructions to Domestic Policy council to recommend policies within 90 days.
During his election campaign, the 47th US president vowed to make IVF treatment free after Democrats claimed that the opposition to abortion would also affect access to the IVF procedure.
At his Florida residence and club Mar-a-Lago, Trump took more than 30 minutes of questions on a range of topics, highlighting issues including the Russia-Ukraine war.
Furthermore, Trump said he thinks "women and families, husbands, are very appreciative" of his executive order on IVF, which offers a possible solution when a woman have problem getting pregnant naturally.
The procedure involves retrieving eggs from ovaries, fertilising them with sperm in a lab, and then transferring embryos into the uterus. IVF is done in cycles, and more than one may be required.
Barbara Collura, president and CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, called the decision "extremely promising."
She added, "The biggest barriers for people to building their families are the out-of-pocket costs, the lack of insurance coverage for this care."
IVF became a hot issue during election campaign after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created by the procedure are "extrauterine children."
The ruling led to a pause in IVF in the state until the law made it clear that IVF clinics couldn’t be legally held responsible if an embryo did not result in live birth.
