The House passed a defense authorization bill Dec. 10 without a provision to allow health care coverage of in vitro fertilization (IVF) for active-duty military.
The original bill would have required Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “ensure that fertility-related care for a member of the uniformed services on active duty (or a dependent of such a member) shall be covered under TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Select.” Tricare does not cover IVF.
Like last year, the IVF provision was eliminated from the defense authorization bill shortly before its consideration. President Donald Trump had made a campaign promise to make IVF free. The House passed the bill (S. 1071) by a vote of 312-112, and Senate consideration is next.
Pro-life groups cheered the provision’s removal from the bill. “Students for Life has opposed IVF as practiced, as it’s a business model that by design, destroys far more lives than are allowed to live and thrive,” Students for Life Vice President Kristy Hamrick said. “The move to pull the funding for IVF will free up resources to seek better answers.”
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