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WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2025 – Donald Trump‘s promise to expand in vitro fertilization (IVF) access for millions of Americans is now on hold, as White House officials are reportedly backing away from plans to mandate that Obamacare health plans cover the service as an essential health benefit, according to a Sunday report.
### White House Reconsidering IVF Mandate
The management appears to be shelving a key campaign pledge,citing the need for congressional action rather than executive orders.
- White House officials are reportedly moving away from plans to mandate IVF coverage through the Affordable Care Act.
- The shift contradicts Trump’s 2024 campaign promise to ensure insurance companies cover IVF.
- The administration acknowledges that amending the ACA requires legislative action, not an executive order.
- This decision highlights the limitations of executive power in implementing healthcare policy.
From pushing legislation to address IVF access, a move that contradicts one of Trump’s signature campaign pledges. This data comes from two individuals familiar with internal discussions within Trump’s circle.
A senior administration official acknowledged that amending the Affordable Care Act to compel insurers to cover new services necessitates legislative action, not an executive order. The president has increasingly relied on executive fiat during his second term, navigating a closely divided congress and a fractious GOP majority in the House of Representatives.
Trump has previously used executive orders to significantly alter federal agencies, including USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. His attempts to reduce the Department of Education’s staffing are still being contested in the courts, though the Supreme Court has greenlit staff cuts. However, many campaign promises, like expanding IVF access, fall outside the executive branch’s direct influence through personnel or resource redirection.
In 2024, trump offered a general commitment to ensure insurance companies woudl cover IVF. He famously declared himself the “father of IVF” at a Fox News town hall and stated during an NBC news interview,”We are going to be,under the Trump administration,we are going to be paying for that treatment. We’re going to be mandating that the insurance company pay.”
This stance drew criticism, as many conservatives oppose the Affordable Care act, the very framework Trump proposed to utilize. With Trump’s “big,beautiful bill” passed without IVF provisions and midterm elections approaching,opportunities to advance the issue in Congress appear limited.
In Febuary, Trump signed an executive order directing advisers to recommend policies for protecting IVF access and reducing treatment costs. However, no important developments have been reported since then.
Critics in 2024 highlighted the policy’s contrast with the previous administration’s failed attempts to repeal the Affordable care act. It also stood at odds with conservative principles regarding government intervention in healthcare decisions.
“President Trump pledged to expand access to fertility treatments for Americans who are struggling to start families,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson stated. “the Administration is committed like none before it to using its authorities to deliver on this pledge.”
The promise resonated with natalist factions within his party, including Vice President JD vance, and drew praise from some Democrats concerned with healthcare access for lower-income individuals.
Vance has long voiced concerns about declining U.S. birth rates. In 2019, he told a Washington gathering, “Our peopel aren’t having enough children to replace themselves. That should bother us.” He further stated, “We want babies not just as they are economically useful. We want more babies because children are good. And we believe children are good, because we are not sociopaths.” Two years later, he remarked on a podcast, “I think we have to go to war against the anti-child ideology that exists in our country.”
During the 2024 campaign, Vance criticized Democrats as “childless cat ladies” and accused them of being anti-family. Progressives countered by pointing to Democratic initiatives, including the Affordable Care Act, that support young families.
Further comment has been sought from the White House.
