While discussing one of the most anticipated topics of the first (and likely only) debate of the 2024 presidential election, former President Donald Trump boldly claimed to be a “leader for IVF” after the moderator asked whether Americans should trust him on the issue of abortion — and more specifically, whether he would veto a nationwide ban on the medical procedure — but Trump did not clearly answer the question.
“I’m a leader in IVF,” Trump said at a debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on September 10. (IVF is a common and effective infertility treatment in which eggs are removed from the ovaries, mixed with sperm outside the body in a lab, and the fertilized eggs are implanted in the uterus.) Trump was responding specifically to comments made by Vice President Kamala Harris, who called on Americans to “understand what’s happening under Donald Trump’s abortion ban — couples who pray and dream of starting a family are being denied IVF treatment.”
President Trump’s past comments about assisted reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization have left even Republicans confused. Scratching his head Trump has questioned what exactly he plans to support if re-elected. He wasn’t lying when he tried to explain that he had asked the state legislature to protect access to IVF after the Alabama Supreme Court’s controversial decision that frozen embryos are considered children in the eyes of the law, causing several clinics and providers to suspend treatment. In a Feb. 23 post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump said, “Under my leadership, the Republican Party will always support the creation of strong, thriving and healthy American families. We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder!”
And he has even suggested that the government or health insurance companies should fund IVF: “Under a Trump administration, we will pay for IVF treatments,” Trump said. said NBC News “I’m going to make the insurance companies pay,” he said in August, a remark that appeared to come as a surprise to people involved in his campaign.
But while his support for IVF seems promising, it feels like a ploy at best. NBC News Asked to elaborate on his comments from earlier this month, the campaign told the outlet it was unclear whether any plans existed.
Ultimately, Trump played a key role in overturning the amendment. Roe v. Wade, That decision, which erased a constitutional right to abortion care and which he proudly claims was made possible by Supreme Court justices he appointed, paved the way for the Alabama decision that threatened the use of embryos for in vitro fertilization in the first place.
That’s why it’s worth looking at Trump’s record on abortion in particular. He has employed a similarly duplicitous strategy on the issue, trying to appease his base while simultaneously courting moderate voters. In 2018, Trump supported a 20-week abortion ban and promised to sign it if it passed the Senate (it didn’t). In 2019, he passed a rule allowing health care providers to refuse to provide abortion and other services based on religious beliefs. And in 2022, Trump rolled back his tougher stance on abortion, Criticized Republicans, particularly those who opposed exceptions for “rape, incest or the life of the mother,” said the move lost them the support of many voters. But earlier this year, he was reported to have supported a nationwide 16-week (then 15-week) abortion ban, saying the issue should ultimately be left to individual states, a point he made several times during debates.
What’s clear is that Trump’s contradictory statements on reproductive health have been and will continue to be a last resort to hold on to any shred of support. Harris directly criticized him during the debate, saying, “The vast majority of Americans believe that women have the right to make decisions about their own bodies. That’s why in every state where this issue was on the ballot, Republican states and Democrat states, the American people voted freely.”
Your health always counts, and your vote can have more impact than you think. Check out SELF’s 2024 election coverage here.
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