WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., applauded President Donald Trump’s executive order Tuesday aimed at expanding access to in vitro fertilization.
Britt has been a strong advocate for IVF. She said the order, which calls for recommendations within 90 days to protect access and make it more affordable, will ensure more people have the opportunity to have children.
“I think having the domestic policy team take a look over these next 90 days and say what impediments are there to the ability to access IVF for those who are experiencing infertility, so whether those are financial … whether there are different things in law that create that, being able to find a pathway forward I think is critically important,” Britt told Alabama Daily News.
In vitro fertilization treatments can cost from $12,000 to $25,000 per cycle, according to a fact sheet provided by the White House. Trump promised on the campaign trail he would make IVF free.
Britt played a key role in getting Trump to embrace IVF after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are the legal equivalent to children. Governor Kay Ivey then signed a law protecting doctors from legal liability that resumed IVF services in the state.
Britt also referenced nationwide low fertility rates as a reason to expand access to IVF. More than 85,000 infants were born because of IVF in 2021, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Britt said if any legislation is needed to expand access that she would lead the effort in the Senate.