During a Wisconsin campaign stop Thursday night, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump promoted a plan to help in vitro fertilization, or IVF.
The announcement came in LaCrosse during what was billed as a town hall meeting. The Former President made this promise if he gets back in the White House.
“And what we’re going to do is for people that are using IVF, which is fertilization, the government is going to pay for it, or we’re going to get, we’re going to mandate your insurance company to pay for it, which is going to be great," Trump said.
Democrats have been criticizing Trump and other Republicans on IVF for months since a court ruling in Alabama temporarily prompted clinics in that state to halt IVF service. Democrats also say families could lose more reproductive rights under Trump, claiming he could approve a national abortion ban.
An audience member Thursday night, Rhonda Neff, said she’s glad Trump brought up the idea of lowering costs for IVF patients.
But Neff does have a potential concern: “I don’t know about the paying for it part. But maybe things should be done to make it more affordable for people. Keep the government money out of it. Make it more affordable somehow," Neff said.
But the campaign of Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris said Trump is pushing, "One of his most brazen lies yet" — arguing the Republican National Committee platform would give rights to fetuses, thereby endangering abortion and IVF.
At a LaCrosse news conference earlier Thursday, Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez (D) argued some undecided voters may make up their minds for November based on the status of reproductive rights. –including women in her home county of Waukesha.
"They want to make sure people have access to reproductive health care. They do not want what Trump plans to do, which is a national abortion ban," Rodriguez said.
Wisconsin Republican Party Chairperson Brian Schimming blasted Democrats for saying Trump’s announcement about IVF is a falsehood and a flip-flop on reproductive rights.
“So, for them to criticize Donald Trump, who has been consistent on just about everything, is flat-out funny," Schimming tells WUWM.
Trump appeared before a few thousand people at the La Crosse Center. He also talked about immigration, inflation and Vice President Harris.
Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is scheduled to be in Milwaukee on Labor Day.
