“We want more babies, to put it very nicely,” Trump said in a recent White House announcement of a deal with the pharmaceutical company EMD Serono to lower prices on fertility drugs used in IVF treatment. The announcement also introduced a new option for employers to include coverage for fertility treatment in their employees’ healthcare plans and promised forthcoming guidance for employers. These measures may help Americans experience the “joy” of raising children, as Trump claims, but his administration’s repeated attacks on services that support American families make them deeply hypocritical.
The announcement comes amid a larger concern about America’s birth rate, which hit a record low in 2024. The Trump administration has made it clear that it’s more concerned with so-called family values than actual families. In its aggressive pursuit of reduced federal spending, millions of families have lost access to essential services. The Trump-backed Big Beautiful Bill cut funding for SNAP benefits by 20 percent — the largest cut in history — placing 22.3 million families in danger of losing some or all of their benefits. This will directly impact children under 18, who make up 39 percent of SNAP recipients. Education is also on the chopping block: the administration withheld $6.2 billion in funding for K-12 education in July, and is working to dismantle the Department of Education, which disburses billions of dollars per year in funding for public schools. It’s also worth noting the hypocrisy of a president who celebrates making fertility treatments cheaper while his party refuses to negotiate with Democrats on affordable healthcare.
It’s no secret that what’s really motivating this focus on IVF is the pro-life agenda. Trump has been open about that fact: “You can’t get more pro-life than this,” he proclaimed at an Oval Office event marking the announcement. What the President failed to acknowledge is that his administration’s actions targeting reproductive healthcare have undermined the same pro-birth policies it’s now championing.
The Trump administration has tried unsuccessfully to block federal funding for Planned Parenthood by preventing clinics that provide abortion services from receiving Medicaid reimbursements. Republican proponents of the policy reason that it prevents federal dollars going toward abortion, yet federal law already prohibits Medicaid funding from being used for abortion services.
The truth is this policy is an attack on reproductive healthcare services in general, including those that help Americans have families. In addition to providing abortion services, Planned Parenthood offers fertility treatments and refers patients to IVF clinics. Stripping away funding would also strip away Americans’ access to these services at Planned Parenthood and its affiliated clinics.
Trump purports to care about hopeful parents’ access to reproductive healthcare and the institution of the American family with his IFV announcement. That message rings hollow, but his administration’s hypocrisy comes through loud and clear.
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