President Donald Trump issued an executive order Feb. 18 seeking to expand access to in vitro fertilization, opening a potentially controversial debate among his core constituency of evangelical Christians.
The “pro-life” movement is divided on IVF, with some seeing it as a blessing to help infertile couples conceive and bear children and others warning the IVF process produces excess fertilized eggs which amounts to abortion.
Tony Perkins, head of the conservative Family Research Council and an ardent Trump supporter, issued a statement in response to the executive order that neither endorses it nor condemns it.
Tony Perkins
“While we celebrate the blessing of these children’s lives, we must also acknowledge that millions more lives have been lost as the result of human life being made in a laboratory,” he said.
Other pro-life groups, such as Students for Life of America, outright criticized the executive order.
Kristan Hawkins admonished Trump for his IVF order before it was even signed.
“Please stop and study the IVF industry, which is disturbing as it preys on desperate families, kills humans in the embryonic stage and promotes eugenics,” Students for Life leader Kristan Hawkins said via X.
Democrats in Congress, meanwhile, called Trump’s executive order a “publicity stunt.”
“If he is actually serious about taking real action to accomplish his own campaign promise to make IVF free for everyone, there’s a simple way he can prove it: He can call on Senate Republicans to immediately back my ‘Right to IVF Act’ that would require insurance plans to cover IVF,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. “Otherwise, it’s all just lip-service from a known liar.”
The brief text of the executive order says the Trump administration seeks to “ensure reliable access to IVF treatment, including by easing unnecessary statutory or regulatory burdens to make IVF treatment drastically more affordable.”
The order directs the assistant to the president for domestic policy to, within 90 days, “submit to the president a list of policy recommendations on protecting IVF access and aggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment.”
Trump declares in the order: “My administration recognizes the importance of family formation, and as a nation, our public policy must make it easier for loving and longing mothers and fathers to have children. … Americans need reliable access to IVF and more affordable treatment options, as the cost per cycle can range from $12,000 to $25,000. Providing support, awareness, and access to affordable fertility treatments can help these families navigate their path to parenthood with hope and confidence.”
Perkins, whose group was birthed by Focus on the Family, is one of the best-known evangelical spokesmen for the pro-life cause. His statement was measured.
“Over the last 30 years, infertility rates in America have increased. While the causes are varied, the results are the same — millions of parents longing for the joy of a child,” he began. “The several million babies born as the result of IVF are an incredible blessing to their families and to our society. Their lives have incalculable worth and value, as each is made in God’s image.”
“While we celebrate the blessing of these children’s lives, we must also acknowledge that millions more lives have been lost as the result of human life being made in a laboratory.”
Then he cautiously expressed a “but.”
“While we celebrate the blessing of these children’s lives, we must also acknowledge that millions more lives have been lost as the result of human life being made in a laboratory. Countless embryos — human beings with incalculable dignity and worth — did not survive the IVF process, were left to an uncertain fate in the freezer, or were simply discarded. Viewed through both the lens of faith and science alike, each embryo represents an early stage of human development — unique individuals deserving of our respect and protection.”
The divide among pro-lifers on IVF has to do with the belief held by some that life begins at conception or fertilization. By that understanding, a fertilized egg — even outside a uterus — is human life and discarding it amounts to abortion.
Perkins also warned about the business side of IVF: “The creation of a marketplace for human gametes has transformed the gift of life into a transaction, severing the natural connection between parents and children, and creating an opening for human exploitation. Children are gifts from God, not commodities; and in upholding that truth, we also affirm the importance of careful scientific and ethical oversight to protect these lives at their most vulnerable stages.”
And in a line sure to incite emotions from some infertile couples, he added: “It is also crucial to remember that IVF does not treat the underlying medical causes of infertility but rather works around them, often at great cost financially and morally. Only about a quarter of families that attempt IVF end up holding a child; therapies that address the underlying causes of infertility in men and women see success rates as high as 60%.”
His hope, Perkins said, “is that the Trump administration continues its proven track record of protecting the most vulnerable among us and respecting the dignity of all people — including the unborn, who are so often treated as disposable.”
How that might be done, he did not say other than calling for policies that are “morally and scientifically sound.”
Related articles:
Why Trump’s pledge of free IVF for anyone divides his own party | Analysis by Kristen Thomason
Remembering the early days of controversy over IVF in America | Analysis by Kristen Thomason
Here’s what you need to know to understand that SBC resolution opposing IVF | Analysis by Mark Wingfield