'Women Are Not Stupid': Democrats Scoff At Trump's Pledge To Cover IVF Costs

Donald Trump’s surprising pledge this week to have the government pay for fertility treatments or mandate that insurance cover them for American families shouldn’t be taken seriously, Democrats warned Friday.

“American women are not stupid,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Friday on a press call organized by Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, calling his proposal “smoke and mirrors.”

“Making vague promises about insurance coverage does not stop a single extremist judge or state legislature from banning IVF,” she added, advocating for federal legislation protecting access to the treatment.

“Women see Trump’s attempt to modulate his radical position on reproductive rights for what it is: a total lie,” Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The idea of having the government cover the costs of in vitro fertilization ― which can run patients tens of thousands of dollars ― isn’t new. Democrats in both the House and Senate have introduced legislation on the subject for years, dating back to at least 2018 when Trump was president. They never had any Republican support.

In June, Senate Republicans blocked a package of bills expanding access to IVF after a legal ruling in Alabama briefly halted all IVF services in the state. One of the bills in that package, authored by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), would have mandated insurance coverage for IVF and other infertility treatments. Only two Republicans voted to advance the measure: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

HuffPost reached out to over a dozen Senate Republican offices on Friday inquiring about whether they would support the government picking up the tab for IVF costs or a health insurance