President Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday that asked for a list of policy recommendations to protect access to in vitro fertilization and “aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments.”
Mr. Trump has asked the assistant to the president for domestic policy to provide that list within 90 days.
The executive order does not change any policy and does not mention some of Mr. Trump’s campaign promises on the topic, including making the treatment free. Here’s what to know.
Campaign promises
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 — a ruling that Mr. Trump claims to have brought about — patients and their doctors grew concerned about the fate of fertility treatments, especially after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February 2024 that frozen embryos in test tubes should be considered children.
Later in the year, while on the campaign trail, Mr. Trump began expressing support for fertility treatment and in October, he gave himself the curious nickname of “father of I.V.F.” in a town-hall event that was focused on women’s issues. His campaign later said the comment was made in jest.
Mr. Trump said last summer that if he won the election, he would require insurance companies or the federal government to pay for all costs associated with in vitro fertilization treatments, effectively making the treatment free for patients. The announcement came with little detail about the proposal or how the costs might be addressed. The executive order the president signed on Tuesday makes no mention of such a policy or the possibility of a coverage mandate.