Trump promises free IVF, criticizes six-week abortion limit

Donald Trump has vowed to make in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment free for all women and criticized Florida’s six-week abortion ban in his latest attempt to reposition himself as a champion of reproductive rights.

Speaking at a campaign stop on Thursday, Trump said he would require the government or insurance companies to cover all IVF costs if he were elected to a second presidential term in November.

“Because we want more babies, to be well educated,” Trump told supporters in Potterville, Michigan, a key battleground state.

“But IVF treatments are very expensive,” the Republican candidate added. “It’s very difficult for many people to get them. But I have supported IVF from the beginning.”

Trump did not provide further details on how he would fund the plans.

Trump also said he would allow new parents to deduct “large newborn expenses” from their taxes if he were reelected.

In an interview with NBC News on Thursday, Trump said the six-week abortion limit signed by Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, is “too short” and that there should be “more time.”

Trump also suggested he might support a future Florida ballot measure to guarantee abortion rights up to fetal viability, though a campaign aide later said the former president would not confirm whether he would support the measure.

Trump’s comments come as he seeks to temper Republicans’ stance on reproductive access, which has been cited as a stumbling block for the party among women.

On Friday, Trump, who appointed three of the U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, said in a post on his Truth Social platform that his administration would be “great for women and their reproductive rights.”

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has repeatedly called Trump a threat to women’s rights, including access to abortion, birth control and fertility treatments.

Speaking to supporters in Georgia on Thursday, Harris reiterated her warning that Trump would sign a nationwide abortion ban if he were in office.

“Why don’t they trust women? Well, we trust women! And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law,” she said.

Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, told NBC News on Saturday that Trump would veto a nationwide abortion ban if it were sent to his desk by Congress.

Opinion polls suggest Trump has lost support among female voters since Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee.

In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday, Harris led Trump by 13 percentage points among women, up from a nine-point lead in July.

While Trump’s effort to present a moderate image on reproductive issues may increase his appeal in some quarters, it risks alienating religious and anti-abortion voters, who make up a significant portion of the Republican base.

“It’s a problem for Trump that after a speech where he sought to address the issue, he is, week after week, making his position on abortion more liberal, weakening his base of pro-life supporters and making them feel like he won’t stick to that position,” Michael Brendan Dougherty, a writer for the conservative National Review, said in an X post on Thursday.

Via News Agencies