AFA Action urges Trump admin to protect human embryos in proposed fertility benefits rule

TUPELO, Miss. — AFA Action, the governmental affairs affiliate of the American Family Association, has submitted formal comments to the U.S. Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services urging revisions to the proposed Excepted Fertility Benefits rule to ensure that any new fertility insurance benefit protects human life at every stage and excludes surrogacy.

AFA Action expressed support for helping couples experiencing infertility, but stated that federal policy should not encourage practices that destroy or commodify human embryos.

“My wife and I have struggled with infertility and very well understand the pain it causes,” said Dr. Jameson Taylor, director of AFA Action’s Center for Government Renewal. “But the pro-life position has always been clear. Life begins at conception. IVF is a dangerously unregulated industry. And any proposed insurance coverage must encourage guardrails to protect human life and to protect couples suffering from infertility.”

Among its recommendations, AFA Action urged the Trump Administration to:

• Exclude procedures that result in the making and destruction of “excess” human embryos.
• Prohibit coverage of selective fetal reduction procedures that are a form of early abortion.
• Limit coverage to fertility treatments that respect embryonic human life, including natural-cycle IVF approaches that avoid making excess embryos.
• Adopt a medically rigorous definition of infertility that does not expand coverage to include surrogacy.

“Federal policy should support families without compromising the dignity of children or undermining the value of human life,” said Dr. Jameson Taylor. “A carefully tailored rule can assist couples suffering from infertility while remaining consistent with longstanding principles that recognize the inherent worth of every person from the moment of conception.”

The comments were submitted by Jackson Dellinger, M.A., Guest Legal Fellow for AFA Action, and Jameson Taylor, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Government Renewal, in response to the federal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding Excepted Fertility Benefits.

AFA Action is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to advancing biblical family values in society and government by shaping public policy through education and advocacy. The mission of AFA Action is to inform and mobilize individuals to strengthen the biblical foundations of America by persuading individuals with the truth of the Gospel, challenging the lost to repent, promoting societal values that are consistent with Scripture, restraining evil and exposing the works of darkness, motivating people to take a stand on cultural and moral issues, and encouraging Christians to bear witness to the world the love of Jesus Christ. Find AFA Action Alerts here. 

For more information on the American Family Association, visit www.afa.net or follow AFA on Facebook or X.        

For more information on AFA Action, visit www.afaaction.net or follow AFA Action on Facebook or X.

To interview an AFA or AFA Action spokesperson, contact Hamilton Strategies, [email protected], Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, or Daniel Moyer, ext. 104.