The Trump campaign reaffirmed the former president’s support of in vitro fertilization (IVF), saying he supports "universal access" to the fertility treatment, following the release of an attack ad by Vice President Kamala Harris that claimed he would ban it.
"President Trump has long been consistent in supporting the rights of states to make decisions on abortion and has been very clear that he will NOT sign a federal ban when he is back in the White House, Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, said in a statement to NBC News. "President Trump also supports universal access to contraception and IVF."
Trump told NBC last month that if he wins a second White House term in November, his administration would ensure that the cost of IVF "for all Americans that want it," and "all Americans that need it" would be covered by either the government or insurance companies.
"We are going to be, under the Trump administration, we are going to be paying for that treatment," Trump said, adding, "We’re going to be mandating that the insurance company pay."
The campaign’s statement was reportedly issued in response to a follow-up question on whether same-sex couples would be able to access IVF as well as their heterosexual counterparts.
Asked about Trump’s IVF remarks and his campaign’s claim that Democrats support "abortion up until birth," Harris campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz told NBC that "Donald Trump’s own platform — listed publicly on his website — could effectively ban IVF."
"As President, he appointed an anti-IVF extremist to the federal bench, proposed a rule to allow health care workers to deny IVF to LGBTQ couples, and hosted the Alabama judge who banned IVF at White House," Munoz said.
Echoing the vice president’s claims that Trump and other Republicans will try to ban IVF if he returns to the Oval Office, Harris’ campaign released a one-minute ad this week that portrayed a military family concerned about their ability to access IVF in a second Trump presidency.
Trump responded in a post on his Truth Social platform shortly after the ad began airing on Monday.
"Comrade Kamala Harris just put up an Ad saying that I.V.F. was banned in certain areas because of me," he wrote. "That is another LIE, just like her working at McDonald’s was a LIE! I have been totally supportive of I.V.F., right from the beginning, and so has the Republican Party!"
The Republican nominee has pledged to increase access to fertility treatments if elected, drawing criticism from within his own party for his promise to fully fund IVF if he wins.
"We want more babies, to put it very nicely," Trump said. "And, for the same reason, we will also allow new parents to deduct major newborn expenses from their taxes."