Former President Donald Trump’s proposal for free in vitro fertilization treatments forces Democrats to play catch-up on the type of social issue they usually own and to tell voters that the Republican nominee’s proposal could be too good to be true.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said Sunday that nothing that comes out of Mr. Trump’s mouth is believable, so his proposal is hard to believe too.
“You can’t take this seriously. I mean, this isn’t just a Republican — and by the way, I work well with Republicans — this is Donald Trump, who will say anything and everything, depending on where the wind is blowing,” Ms. Healey said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”
“He caught some heat the other day, you know, and so he comes out with a statement that, all of a sudden, he’s a believer in IVF. It’s just patently false, it’s offensive,” she said.
In an NBC News interview last week, Mr. Trump said that if he were elected, his administration would protect IVF from state bans and would have the government or insurance companies cover the expenses.
“We are going to be, under the Trump administration, we are going to be paying for that treatment,” Mr. Trump said, before adding, “We’re going to be mandating that the insurance company pay.”
SEE ALSO: GOP Sen. Cotton says he’s ‘open to’ Trump IVF-coverage proposal
Ms. Healey urged people to not believe anything Mr. Trump says.
“You know, as Attorney General, I had to sue him over 100 times for his lies. And as governor, I’ve seen the very real difference between a Trump administration and an administration that we’ll have with Kamala Harris,” she said. “When it comes to health, women’s health, reproductive freedom, there can be no clearer a difference in this election. Kamala Harris stands squarely for reproductive freedom.”
The Harris campaign slammed the former president’s proposal Friday, by way of campaign surrogate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who told reporters that the plan was Mr. Trump’s attempt to hide from his record on abortion.
“Trump’s latest campaign promise is just smoke and mirrors,” Ms. Warren said, adding that 40% of women in America live under an abortion ban. “If Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are in the White House, it won’t just be 40%. It will be 100% of women.”
Mr. Trump has consistently said since his Supreme Court picks overturned the Roe vs. Wade decision that made abortion a federal constitutional right that he opposes a national abortion ban and the issue is a matter for states.
But Ms. Warren said Mr. Trump “thinks women are stupid and that we can be gaslighted.”
“He seems to believe that he can do one thing when he talks to his extremist base and then turn around and smile at the overwhelming majority of Americans who want to see access to abortion and IVF protected, and lie about it,” the Massachusetts Democrat said. “That’s not happening.”
In vitro fertilization as a national political issue is new. It was sparked by an Alabama Supreme Court ruling last year that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law.
The ruling halted IVF procedures since doctors and health care providers became nervous about being legally targeted. The procedures usually produce more embryos than the one sought and the remainder are often frozen or destroyed.
But Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican, said he is in favor of Mr. Trump’s proposal, and said “all Republicans, to my knowledge, support IVF in Congress.”
“There’s no state that prohibits or regulates IVF in a way that makes it inaccessible,” Mr. Cotton said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “It is expensive for many couples. I understand that. So, it’s something I’m open to, that most Republicans would be open to.”
The Arkansas lawmaker said the “fiscal impact, whether the taxpayer can afford to pay for this” would need to be evaluated.
“But, in principle, supporting couples who are trying to use IVF or other fertility treatments I don’t think is something that’s controversial at all,” he said.
However, some anti-abortion groups are against open access to IVF.
Conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation and Advancing American Freedom have spoken out about the ethical and moral concerns regarding the procedure and have called for limitations.
“There are profound moral issues with the way IVF is practiced in the U.S. — in many cases, amounting to eugenics,” a Heritage Foundation report said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday that he also would not support Mr. Trump’s proposal because “there’s no end to that.”
“I think he’s just trying to show his support for IVF treatments that, you know, we’ve been accused, the party has, of being a bit – against birth control. We’re not. We’ve been accused of being against IVF treatments. We’re not,” Mr. Graham said on ABC’s “This Week.”
The South Carolina Republican said instead he would advocate for a tax credit for women who use IVF or other treatments to become pregnant.
“We have tax credits for people who have children. Maybe we should have a means tested tax credit for people using IVF and other treatments to become pregnant,” he said. “I would support a tax credit, means tested, kind of like we do with children. That makes sense to me, to encourage people to have children.”
He said he and his Democratic colleagues “might be able to find common ground” on the issue.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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