WATERTOWN, Wis.— Former President Donald Trump unveiled his new in-vitro fertilization (IVF) policy during a Midwest tour Thursday night, telling a packed town hall in La Crosse, Wisconsin, that “your government” will either cover IVF treatment or require insurance companies to do so. “We want people to have babies,” Trump said to enthusiastic applause from the audience.
Trump’s remarks followed a moving account from former Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (I-HI), who moderated the town hall and shared her own experience with unsuccessful IVF treatments while serving in Congress.
“I just know there are women or couples in this crowd, those watching tonight, going through this same struggle,” Gabbard said to the western Wisconsin audience.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), who is defending his seat against Democratic challenger Rebecca Cooke on Wisconsin’s western border, expressed his support for the policy.
“The Republican Party is the party of the family,” Van Orden told The Post after Trump’s town hall when asked how the new policy might affect the race in Wisconsin.
Van Orden admitted that he doesn’t have all the answers regarding IVF, particularly when it comes to the controversy surrounding excess embryos created during the lab fertilization process. “Do I have all the answers about IVF? Cause you do have a bunch of fertilized embryos. Honestly, I don’t have the answer to the disposition of that,” he acknowledged. “If people want to have children, they should be able to use this technology. So I fully support it. President Trump fully supports it.”
Van Orden also pushed back against reports suggesting that Trump had shifted his stance on the controversial issue.
Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have focused heavily on reproductive rights in battleground Wisconsin, highlighting IVF and abortion exception cases.
When asked about Trump’s position on abortion, Van Orden turned the conversation toward the Democrats’ stance. “We really need to understand the Democrat Party has the most radical stance on taxpayer-funded abortions up to birth for any reason, including sex selection, and if the child survives an abortion attempt. It’s horrific,” he said.
Both Trump and Van Orden support exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother.
“I just can’t imagine being in that position. And I’d like to get to a place as a world where no mom feels she has to abort that child,” Van Orden said, referring to the abortion ban exceptions. “If you’re having a medical emergency because you’re pregnant, it’s a medical procedure.”
Rebecca Cooke, a former political fundraiser and strategist who won the Democratic primary in August, will face Van Orden in November. While Democrats are pouring millions into the race to unseat the former Navy SEAL, the Cook Political Report rates Van Orden’s House race as Lean Republican.
