Democratic senator calls on Trump to support fertility care for troops after dubbing himself father of IVF
WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen.Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) is calling on President-elect Donald Trump to weigh in on her proposal to cover in-vitro fertilization treatments for the military after dubbing himself “the father of IVF” on the campaign trail.Duckworth, an Army veteran who conceived both her children through IVF, penned Trump a letter on Wednesday asking him to help ensure her provision of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act makes it into the final law — which is expected to pass before he even takes office in January.The NDAA is the annual law that sets the Pentagon’s spending and policy priorities for each coming year.“Although the NDAA will be finalized by the 118th Congress, the fate of one key provision in H.R.
8070, the House-passed NDAA, will make or break your ability to fulfill your election night pledge to ‘…govern by a simple motto: promises made, promises kept,'” she told the president-elect in a letter first obtained by Politico.“Specifically, I am referring to your bold campaign promise on in vitro fertilization.I believe you are the first presidential candidate in the history of our Nation to promise the American people that, if elected: ‘Your government will pay for, or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for, all costs associated with IVF treatment.'”Duckworth has been an avid proponent of fertility treatment coverage, authoring legislation that would require insurance companies to pay for the treatments, which would also “require the Federal Government [to] cover IVF through the Veterans Health Administration,” she said in her letter.However, the senator will need help from GOP senators to get the provision passed, so Duckworth reached out to Trump to enlist his support.“As the leader of the Republican Party, it would be appropriate for you to exercise your influence to prevent Congressional Republicans from undermining your ability to govern by your own ‘promises made, promises kept’ motto ...