Pro-life advocacy groups and Catholic bishops are speaking out against President Donald Trump's executive order expanding access to in-vitro fertilization, praising the administration's efforts to help infertile couples while believing IVF is an improper way to achieve such a goal.
On Tuesday, Trump issued an executive order establishing his administration's policy to "ensure reliable access to IVF treatment, including by easing unnecessary statutory or regulatory burdens to make IVF treatment drastically more affordable."
He ordered the assistant to the president for domestic policy to submit "a list of policy recommendations on protecting IVF access and aggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment."
Trump touted IVF, a procedure whereby an egg is fertilized by sperm outside the body, as a source of "hope to men and women experiencing fertility challenges," insisting that "Americans need reliable access to IVF and more affordable treatment options, as the cost per cycle can range from $12,000 to $25,000."
A fact sheet published by the White House lamented that "only a quarter of employers report coverage of IVF for their employees" and "just a handful of states require some sort of coverage for IVF in state-regulated insurance plans."
As Trump has portrayed IVF in a positive light, pro-life activist organizations and religious bodies have expressed concern that the practice violates the sanctity of human life.
A statement published Thursday by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' public affairs office stated that IVF "destroys human lives" and called for an "ethical alternative."
"As pastors, we see the suffering of so many couples experiencing infertility and know their deep desire to have children is both good and admirable; yet the Administration’s push for IVF, which ends countless human lives and treats persons like property, cannot be the answer," reads the statement from Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Pro-Life Activities; and Bishop Robert E. Barron, chairman of the Committee for Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.
"For the sake of couples trying to bring precious new life into the world, we look forward to working with the Administration to expand support for restorative reproductive medicine that can help ethically treat often-overlooked root causes of infertility. However, we will strongly oppose any policy that expands destruction of human life, or forces others to subsidize the cost.”
A report published Tuesday by the right-leaning think tank Ethics and Public Policy Center states, "IVF involves the creation, screening, transfer, storage, and sometimes destruction of a living human being at the earliest stages of development."
Lila Rose, founder of the pro-life group Live Action, detailed her opposition to the executive order in a statement shared with The Christian Post Wednesday.
"The staggering cost of IVF is human lives — the over 90% of tiny boys and girls created via IVF only to be frozen, discarded, or killed. This is not pro-life. Every human life begins at fertilization, yet IVF treats human beings as disposable," Rose stated.
"President Trump's goal of helping more Americans have families and more babies is a good one — but expanding IVF is the wrong way to do it," Rose asserted.
"No one is entitled to a child at the cost of denying the humanity and rights of countless others. A compassionate society must work to support families while upholding the dignity and protection of every human being — born and preborn. President Trump and other leaders should champion ethical, life-affirming fertility options that protect both mothers and children."
In a statement, the national pro-life grassroots organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said it "does not object to ethical fertility treatments paired with strong medical safety standards that help couples struggling with infertility." At the same time, the group maintained, "We also believe human embryos should not be destroyed."
"Rogue practitioners who switch human embryos, fail to follow basic safety standards, or negligently destroy human embryos desired by infertile couples must be held to account under any federal role in fertility treatment," the statement added. "At a minimum, affordability recommendations provided under this executive order should take into account health and safety protections for parents and embryos."
Mat Staver, president and CEO of Liberty Counsel Action, offered a similar analysis in a statement Wednesday, saying that the United States is the "wild west" of the fertility industry that lets so many lives "go to waste."
"While IVF can still help many longing couples, expanding access without regulating the process is a step in the wrong direction," Staver stated. "We need to fix the system with a more reasoned and scientific approach. Every unborn life, no matter their stage or location, is a child and they deserve the same dignity and protection as all children."
The conservative advocacy organization CatholicVote contends that "IVF is NOT the solution to skyrocketing infertility rates" because the industry "prioritizes profit over people."
"There are ethical forms of fertility treatment that help families identify the root cause of their infertility. Subsidizing Big Pharma and IVF is not the answer," the organization argues.
In an X post on Wednesday, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that about 13% of women are having difficulty getting pregnant "or carrying their pregnancy to term."
"I commend President Trump for his compassion and concern with those Americans who can't afford [IVF]," Kennedy wrote. "This is an important strategy for addressing the national crisis on plummetting fertility rates."
