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President Donald Trump's proposal to have the government or insurance companies cover the costs of IVF was an unprecedented shift last week — and Republicans are divided on whether to support it.
Two prominent Republican senators — both staunch Trump supporters — took different approaches to the issue of IVF on Sunday morning, highlighting the party's division over whether to support the measure.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) supported the new IVF proposal, adding that he believed most Republicans would be open to the idea. The financial impact and “whether taxpayers can afford it” are important, the Arkansas senator said.
“Well, as far as I know, every Republican in Congress supports IVF. There’s no state that bans or regulates IVF in a way that makes it unavailable,” Cotton told Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “It’s expensive for a lot of couples. I understand that. So it’s something that they’re open to, and most Republicans would probably be open to.”
“In principle, supporting couples who are trying to use IVF or other fertility treatments, I don't think is controversial at all,” he added.
But Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) disagreed: The South Carolina senator said he wouldn’t support requiring insurance coverage for IVF “because it’s endless.” Instead, he said he favored a tax break in an interview with Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week.”
“We have tax breaks for people who have children. Maybe we should give an income-based tax break for people who use IVF and other treatments to get pregnant,” Graham said. “I support an income-based tax break, like we do for children, and 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 that frozen embryos were babies under state law, opening the possibility of criminal prosecution of medical professionals for embryos lost in the process.
Both Republicans were among 47 Republicans. Vote against the bill In June, the bill was designed to expand access to IVF and other fertility treatments. Two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, backed the measure, which Cotton referred to Sunday as “Chuck Schumer’s ridiculous messaging bill.”
Regarding Trump's unprecedented call for public funding of IVF, Graham said Trump is “just trying to show his support for IVF treatments.”
“We’ve been accused—and the party has been accused—of being somewhat anti-birth control. But we’re not,” Graham said. “We’ve been accused of being anti-IVF. But we’re not.”
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