Safer, more affordable alternatives exist: Here’s why President Trump should make them accessible to all Americans.
At first glance, President Trump’s recent executive order expanding access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) may appear to be a victory for couples struggling to conceive. Yet, what many do not realize is that IVF is not a cure for infertility. It is a costly, ethically compromising, high-risk intervention with limited data that sidesteps the root causes of reproductive-health challenges.
Rather than address the underlying medical issues that prevent conception, IVF acts as a Band-Aid solution, artificially fertilizing eggs outside the womb in a laboratory. Meanwhile, existing treatments that are safer, more effective, and more affordable help couples conceive naturally while improving their overall health. Consistent with the Trump administration’s policies of strengthening American families and their health, it should prioritize making these cost-effective superior treatments widely available.
IVF comes with serious health risks for both the mother and child. Women undergoing IVF face life-threatening complications, including ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, increased cancer risks, and higher rates of ectopic pregnancies. Children conceived through IVF are at far greater risk of health conditions such as premature birth, congenital birth defects, and leukemia.
These downsides don’t even include the countless ethical concerns that come with using IVF. The industry often operates with minimal oversight, leading to reports of embryos accidentally implanted in the wrong uterus and anonymous sperm donors fathering hundreds of children, sometimes resulting in half-siblings unknowingly marrying each other. Many families would prefer to avoid these risks altogether if they had access to better options.
Read the full article to see Dr. Oertle’s thoughts on better, more ethical alternatives to IVF for couples struggling with fertility.
Read the full oped on treatments that are better than IVF in National Review here!
