Virginia bishop decries Trump’s executive order that promotes in vitro fertilization
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Caroline Molloy
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Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, in a Feb. 19 statement expressed disappointment regarding President Donald Trump’s executive order that supports in vitro fertilization and called on elected officials to support families in better ways.
“‘Expanding access’ to IVF as described in this executive order is likely to unjustly promote IVF in a way that will result in the abandonment or death of millions of embryonic human persons, involve all taxpayers with a serious moral injustice, provide federal subsidies for already lucrative IVF businesses, and ignore the risks to parents and children of America’s broadly unregulated IVF industry,” the bishop said in the statement.
Trump’s “Expanding Access to In Vitro Fertilization” executive order, released Feb. 18, called on Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Vince Haley to make recommendations within the next three months regarding how to pursue “protecting IVF access and aggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment.”
“My Administration recognizes the importance of family formation, and as a Nation, our public policy must make it easier for loving and longing mothers and fathers to have children,” the executive order states. “In vitro fertilization (IVF) offers hope to men and women experiencing fertility challenges.
“Americans need reliable access to IVF and more affordable treatment options, as the cost per cycle can range from $12,000 to $25,000. Providing support, awareness, and access to affordable fertility treatments can help these families navigate their path to parenthood with hope and confidence.”
Bishop Burbidge said that the president is contradicting himself.
“In practice and principle, IVF is incompatible with the president’s evident support for the good of human life and his desire to encourage family formation,” the bishop said.
Last month, the bishop published a pastoral letter regarding IVF, aiming to encourage and teach people about the morality of this fertility treatment. The letter, titled “The Christian Family, In Vitro Fertilization, and Heroic Witness to True Love,” described the unfulfilled desire many couples experience of having a child and why IVF is not a good solution.
