WASHINGTON, D.C – On February 18, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at expanding access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and reducing its associated costs to patients. The order reportedly directs the Domestic Policy Council to develop policy recommendations within 90 days to protect IVF access and aggressively lower out-of-pocket expenses and health plan costs.
John Mize, CEO of Americans United for Life (AUL), responded:
“We recognize and affirm the deep desire of families to welcome children into the world. Anyone who has faced infertility knows the sorrow it brings. The gift of life is precious. That said, the creation of human life carries profound moral and ethical considerations that demand sound, responsible policies—ones that uphold the sanctity of every human life from conception to natural death.
Our organization, Americans United for Life, does not take a position on IVF as a practice, but we do oppose embryo destruction as a life-ending activity, whether pre- or post-implantation. We have raised concerns about:
- the inhumanity of keeping human beings in an indefinite frozen state; a number of groups have formed to facilitate embryo adoption to bring these human beings to birth and avoid either having their lives destroyed or limited by remaining in a frozen state;
- the medical risks to women from IVF and encourage research and full disclosures;
- the discrimination that often goes along with IVF as sex-selection of embryos is touted as one of the capabilities of the IVF process, at least by some practitioners.
- the health complications for both mom and baby when there isn’t a limit on how many embryos are implanted in the mother. This increases health complications and creates a bioethical issue, as the industry knowingly creates a high risk scenario that often encourages selective reduction, aka abortion.
To address these issues, AUL has authored the Assisted Reproductive Technologies Disclosure (ART) and Risk Reduction Act and Policy Guide which lays out a more ethical approach to IVF. The AUL legal team has assisted approximately 10 states in passing an ART informed consent bill and nine states have passed regulations on egg harvesting.
The IVF industry is plagued with issues that do not protect life or the maternal patients. We believe that any policy that speaks to the issue of IVF should include, as a starting point, greater industry regulation aimed at protecting women and their embryonic children, consumer informed consent reform, and conscience protections for healthcare professionals.
We also acknowledge that there are better alternatives to IVF that focus on identifying and treating underlying health issues that affect fertility, enabling natural conception and enhancing overall reproductive well-being for women. Notably, these alternatives are often more cost-effective than IVF, reducing financial burdens on families and the healthcare system. A policy that promotes these alternatives would support families while ensuring a responsible and ethical approach to fertility care.
The U.S. IVF industry promotes a financially lucrative process without proper ethical and regulatory oversight allowing for the routine creation of far more embryos than will ever be implanted—many of which are discarded, frozen indefinitely, or subjected to destructive experimentation. A truly life-affirming approach to family building must include the implementation of a regulatory framework that ensures every embryonic human being created is given the best chance at life, rather than being treated as a disposable commodity.
The IVF industry has managed to evade regulatory frameworks that could minimize unnecessary loss of life while also significantly reducing risks associated with biobanking embryos. Unlike much of Europe, the United States does not restrict the number of embryos fertilized, nor does it hold IVF biobanks accountable for adhering to industry standards aimed at mitigating the risk of unnecessary loss of life. Currently, IVF biobanks operate without any obligation to implement safety and risk mitigation strategies that are common in biobanking, such as access controls, redundant power supplies, and emergency response plans.
We urge federal and state policymakers to consider a pro-family, pro-life framework that advances restorative reproductive health while maintaining a deep reverence for the dignity of every human life created. Expanding access to fertility treatments should not come at the cost of disregarding the very lives we seek to bring into the world. Instead, a regulatory infrastructure that upholds both life and responsible medical innovation is necessary to truly champion a culture that values children regardless of the means by which they are conceived.”
AUL CEO John Mize and Vice President Mike Pence authored an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal last year that made the case that IVF can be life-affirming when done within an appropriate regulatory infrastructure that honors both the family and the life of a human being at the earliest stages of development.
For more information or to arrange an interview with AUL, contact Alison Centofante at press@aul.org or 609-517-7235.
Since 1971, Americans United for Life (AUL) has advanced the human right to life in culture, law, and policy by equipping advocates and lawmakers with the facts and strategies that change hearts and minds and protect human life. The first national pro-life organization in the country, AUL is a nonprofit, public-interest law and policy organization with a four-star rating from Charity Navigator.
