President Trump Signs Order Expanding IVF Access, Fulfilling Tzedek’s Advocacy Efforts

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday aimed at cutting the cost of in vetro fertilization (IVF) treatments for families struggling to have children.

Trump promised to reforms IVF while campaigning for office.

Trump’s plan in part, true to his political outlook, is to ease “unnecessary statutory or regulatory burdens to make IVF treatment drastically more affordable,” the order read. He also instructed the Assistant to the President on Domestic Policy, within 90 days, to submit “a list of policy recommendations on protecting IVF access and aggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment,” Trump’s order stated.

Currently, treatments can cost between $12,000 and $25,000 per attempt; it often takes multiple tries before successfully conceiving a child.

Tzedek, a community organization that has, for two years, lobbied to make infertility treatments more affordable, lauded the announcement.

“President Trump’s Executive Order today is a major milestone in accomplishing our goal to get all infertility treatment covered, so that people striving to have children are no longer forced to pay out of pocket for these expensive treatments,” Rabbi Moshe Margeretten, founder and President of Tzedek told Belaaz.

“It’s a first step, but a major first step. With Hashem’s help we will get to the finish line.”

Margeretten says that there’s no reason why the U.S. can’t have policies that are already in place in Israel and Europe, which make IVF covered by insurance.

Trump, in the order, recognizes that “many hopeful couples dream of starting a family, but as many as one in seven are unable to conceive a child. Despite their hopes and efforts, infertility struggles can make conception difficult, turning what should be a joyful experience into an emotional and financial struggle,” the order stated.