The Republican presidential candidate’s comments are the latest attempt to project a liberal image on reproductive issues.
Donald Trump has pledged to make in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment free for all women and criticised Florida’s six-week abortion ban, the latest attempt by the Republican to reinvent himself as a defender of reproductive rights.
Speaking at a campaign rally on Thursday, Trump said he would expect the government or insurance companies to cover all the costs of IVF if he is elected to a second term in November.
“Because we want more kids, to put it very nicely,” Trump told supporters in Pottersville, Michigan.
“But IVF treatments are very expensive,” the Republican candidate said. “It’s very difficult for a lot of people to get it and afford it. But I’ve been in favor of IVF from the beginning.”
Trump did not say how he would fund these plans.
Trump also said that if re-elected he would allow new parents to deduct “major newborn expenses” from their taxes.
In an interview with NBC News on Thursday, Trump said the six-week limit on abortions signed by Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is “too short” and should have “more time.”
Trump also indicated he would vote in favor of an upcoming ballot measure in Florida guaranteeing the right to abortion as long as the fetus is alive, though a campaign adviser later said the former president had not said whether he would support the measure.
Trump’s comments come as he seeks to improve Republicans’ image over issues related to reproductive access, which have been described as a hindrance to the party’s standing among women.
On Friday, Trump, who appointed three US Supreme Court justices who voted to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion, said in a post on his Truthout social platform that his administration would be “great for women and their reproductive rights”.
Democratic Party’s candidate Kamala Harris has repeatedly described Trump as a threat to women’s rights, including access to abortion, birth control and fertility treatments.
Addressing her supporters in the state of Georgia on Thursday, Harris reiterated her warning that Trump would sign a nationwide abortion ban bill during his term.
“Why don’t they trust women? Well, we trust women! And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law,” she said.
Senator J.D. Vance, Trump’s vice-presidential candidate, told NBC News on Saturday that Trump would veto a national abortion ban if it was sent to him by Congress.
Opinion polls show that Vice President Trump has lost support among female voters since he replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee.
In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday, Harris leads Trump by 13 percentage points among women, up from a nine-point lead in July.
Trump’s attempt to project a moderate image on reproductive issues may boost his appeal in some areas, but it risks alienating religious and anti-abortion voters, who are a key part of the Republican base.
“It’s a problem for Trump that, week after a speech in which he was supposed to settle the issue, he’s been moving his position on abortion more liberal week after week, knocking the ground out from under the feet of his pro-life supporters and making them realize he’s not going to stop,” Michael Brendan Dougherty, a writer for the conservative National Review, said in a post on X on Thursday.
