US: Donald Trump has declared himself a “leader” on in vitro fertilization (IVF)

US: In terms of in vitro fertilization (IVF), Donald Trump has attempted to cast himself as ‘a leader of sorts’; however, this may be the reason why pro-lifers, who are against this practice, may be alienated from him.

Trump noted, ‘I have mopped up on fertilization; I have also been a leader on IVF.’ In a dialogue with Vice President Kamala Harris, he stated, ‘I have been hands on in it. So, including them and everyone else, the facts are on the table.’

Harris pointed out that Trump overturned the right to abortion in the country and maintained so in this conversation that such measures adopted thereafter are stopping couples from accessing IVF. Such issues and access to abortion are hotly contested topics in the campaigns towards November, where democrats are anxiously looking forward to the elections and dreading the prospect of Trump winning again and imposing more restrictions on reproductive health care.

While he has often claimed responsibility for nominating the three Supreme Court judges who overturned Roe v. Wade, Trump has attempted to parry these assaults and project an image of moderation on abortion, cautioning that taking extreme positions may cost Republicans at the polls. Following that ruling, Republican-led states began to impose limitations on abortion, including ones that jeopardized access to in vitro fertilization.

IVF gained notoriety after the Alabama Supreme Court decided in February that frozen embryos produced by IVF may be regarded as children under state law. This decision prompted concerns about the possible effects on fertility treatments and the freezing of embryos, as well as the closure of some fertility clinics in the state.

During the discussion, Trump said that he had denounced the decision and pushed legislators in Alabama to come up with a way to keep access to IVF intact. The legislature moved quickly to enact legislation giving the clinics legal safeguards.

Trump promised last month to cover the cost of IVF for women should he be elected to a second term. At an August event, he said, “Because we want more babies, to put it nicely,” without going into detail about the plan’s implementation or funding source.

Republicans on Tuesday opposed legislation that would provide a national right to IVF for the second time this year, despite Trump’s support for IVF safeguards.

“President Trump has long been consistent in supporting the rights of states to make abortion decisions and has been very clear that he will NOT sign a federal ban when he is back in the White House,” Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary for the Trump campaign, told Newsweek.

She “supports universal access to contraception and IVF,” she said.

Supporters of a nationwide abortion ban have been irritated by Trump’s changing stance, and he runs the danger of further alienating them with his views on IVF, which some people disagree with since the procedure usually includes destroying useless embryos.

Chief legal officer and general counsel at Americans United for Life Steven Aden told Newsweek, “We’d encourage President Trump to consider the moral catastrophe of the deliberate destruction of human embryos that very often attends the procedure, even though public coverage or a health insurance mandate for IVF would be bad policy for a host of practical reasons.”

“On IVF, we urge caution and hope that politicians slow down to understand the issue before making promises and offering protections and taxpayer funds to the wrong parties,” Kristi Hamrick of Students for Life of America told Newsweek.

According to Newsweek, SBA Pro-Life America’s president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, “supports the growth of families through fertility treatments, but in an ethical way, with strong medical safety standards that are upheld.”

“We believe human embryos should not be needlessly destroyed,” Dannenfelser said. Proposals on this subject often go too far by providing IVF facilities with complete protection, even for rogue practitioners who swap human embryos, disregard fundamental safety precautions, or carelessly kill human embryos that infertile couples wish. There will be no redress available to American families in these actual situations.”