Gabbard Discusses Fertility Struggles as Trump Promises Free IVF

Tulsi Gabbard

 

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard detailed her struggles with infertility during a town hall with former President Donald Trump that streamed live on Newsmax2 on Thursday.

Gabbard said it's been hard to talk about publicly, but admitted that she and her husband had tried for years to get pregnant and it just never happened. As a last resort, they turned to in vitro fertilization.

Gabbard spoke of the toll it took on them, not just monetarily — it was very, very expensive, she said — but emotionally as well. She spoke of giving herself hormone shots in an airport bathroom and, ultimately, of the repeated heartbreaks she suffered at the doctor's office with every negative pregnancy test.

Gabbard said that although IVF didn't work for her, it has worked for millions of families.

Unfortunately, many women who've considered IVF are afraid it might not be a viable option for them, she said, not only because of the expense, but also the possibility it just won't be available. Democrats have tried to paint Republicans, and Trump in particular, as a threat to IVF and other reproductive treatments.

She asked Trump where he stood on the matter.

The former president cited an Alabama Supreme Court ruling in February that found frozen embryos should be considered children, a decision he and other Republicans have criticized. He said he came out with a very strong statement against that ruling.

Trump agreed that IVF has worked well for many families, giving them a child they might not otherwise have been able to have. Because of that, he said, his administration, should he win in November, is looking into either making the government pay for IVF treatments, or mandating that insurance pay for it.

It's "gonna be great," he said.

Gabbard said such a move would be "life-changing" for so many families. She said many people go into debt just in the hopes of starting a family of their own.

Trump, in response, echoed a statement he made earlier Thursday in Michigan, "We want babies in this country," he said.

Kate McManus ✉

Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.

© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.