Washington — President Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order that directs his administration to find ways to reduce the high costs of in vitro fertilization, or IVF, for Americans struggling with fertility. 

At an event at Mar-a-Lago, White House staff secretary Will Scharf told reporters that the order directs the Domestic Policy Council “to make IVF and other fertility treatments more affordable for more Americans.” The order requests that the council make policy recommendations within 90 days to protect access to IVF and “aggressively” reduce costs for the treatment. 

“These are treatments that have become unaffordable for many Americans or been unaffordable for many Americans,” Scharf said. 

Health insurance companies are not currently required to cover IVF treatments, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars. 

The executive order said it’s the Trump administration’s policy to “ensure reliable access to IVF treatment, including by easing unnecessary statutory or regulatory burdens to make IVF treatment drastically more affordable.” 

Mr. Trump vowed during the 2024 campaign that the treatments would either be covered by the government or insurance companies if he was reelected. 

“Your government will pay for or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for all costs associated with IVF treatment,” Mr. Trump said in August 2024. 

Weeks after Mr. Trump made the pledge, Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would have protected access to IVF and made the fertility treatments more affordable. Republicans said the legislation was too broad and only two GOP senators — Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — supported it. 

“Republicans support IVF, full stop,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, who was then the minority whip, said at the time, calling the vote “an attempt by Democrats to try and create a political issue where there isn’t one.”

The issue of access to fertility treatments became a political flashpoint last February after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos were considered children under state law. The ruling caused an uproar and cleared the way for potential wrongful death claims if an embryo did not survive the process, causing several providers to pause IVF treatments. After the ruling, Mr. Trump called on the Alabama legislature to “quickly find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF” in the state.