President Donald Trump’s proposal to have government or insurance companies cover IVF was an unprecedented shift last week — and Republicans are split on whether to support it.
Two prominent Republican senators — both strong supporters of Trump — took different approaches to the issue of in vitro fertilization on Sunday morning, highlighting the split in the party over whether to support the measure.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) supported the new IVF proposal, adding that he believed most Republicans would be open to the idea. The Arkansas senator said that the fiscal impact and “whether the taxpayer can afford to pay for this.”
“Well, all Republicans, to my knowledge, support IVF, in the Congress. And there’s no state that prohibits or regulates IVF in a way that makes it inaccessible,” Cotton said in an interview with Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “It is expensive for many couples. I understand that. So, it’s something I’m open to, that most Republicans would be open to.”
He added, “In principle, supporting couples who are trying to use IVF or other fertility treatments, I don’t think is something that’s controversial at all.”
But Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) disagreed: The South Carolina senator said he would not support mandating insurance coverage of IVF “because there’s no end to that.” Instead he said he would prefer a tax credit in an interview with Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week.”
“We have tax credits for people who have children. Maybe we should have a means-tested tax credit for people using IVF and other treatments to become pregnant,” Graham said. “I would support a tax credit, means-tested, kind of like we do with children, that makes sense to me, to encourage people to have children.”
IVF became a major campaign issue in February when the Alabama Supreme Court declared frozen embryos to be children under state law, which led to the possibility that medical professionals could be criminally prosecuted for embryos that are lost in the process.
Both Republicans were among 47 Republicans who voted against a bill in June designed to expand access to IVF and other fertility treatments. Two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, supported the measure, which Cotton on Sunday referred to as “Chuck Schumer’s ridiculous messaging bill.”
As for Trump’s unprecedented call for public funding for IVF, Graham said Trump is “just trying to show his support for IVF treatments.”
“We’ve been accused — the party has — of being a bit against birth control. We’re not,” Graham said. “We’ve been accused of being against IVF treatments. We’re not.”
