3:30President Donald Trump addresses inquiries from the press during a press conference held in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., October 15, 2025. Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Shutterstock
President Donald Trump revealed an agreement on Thursday between his government and the pharmaceutical firm EMD Serono, aimed at decreasing the expenses of selected fertility drugs.
Top officials within the administration indicated this accord will assist a multitude of American females facing difficulties in conception by improving their ability to manage the costs of costly treatments.
Trump promised to broaden IVF availability for Americans struggling to build families — emphasizing it as a key element of his campaign for the presidency. In February, he formalized an executive directive, exploring avenues to bring down expenses and alleviate obstacles to IVF.
This agreement "fulfills the president’s commitment," according to an official.
"Under the Trump administration, we aim to facilitate easier paths for couples to conceive, rear children, and establish the families they’ve always envisioned," Trump stated during an announcement broadcasted from the Oval Office.
Trump shared that EMD Serono, recognized as the foremost producer of fertility drugs globally, has consented to grant reductions in the prices of fertility medications marketed by the firm within the U.S., notably its leading product, Gonal-f, utilized for the treatment of infertility in both women and men.
Government representatives informed ABC News that a typical fertility drug regimen carries a price tag ranging from $5,000 to $6,000 for each cycle, with only around 30% of families benefiting from some form of coverage via their employer.
President Donald Trump answers questions from members of the media at a press conference in the Oval Office, located within the White House in Washington, D.C., on October 15, 2025.Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Shutterstock
Trump indicated that EMD Serono will display their fertility products online at "considerably, exceptionally marked down rates."
"We are delighted to communicate that, varying by the patient’s financial status, the drug expenses associated with a standard IVF cycle designed to treat infertility will diminish somewhere between 42 and 79% for families," one official stated, "contingent on the consequences of this negotiation."
The official communicated these medications will become accessible during the early months of 2026.
In 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asserted that a solitary IVF cycle could demand anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000, potentially exceeding $30,000 should the process require a donor egg.
Typically, around 2.5 cycles are necessary to achieve pregnancy using IVF, which translates to an average expense surpassing $40,000 for those who successfully conceive, as stated by the HHS.
In May, Trump endorsed an executive mandate to put pressure on organizations to only bill U.S. patients the same fees as those charged in other nations, a strategy referred to as "most favored nation" pricing.
This set off a protracted drive spanning several months to impel pharmaceutical enterprises into voluntarily lowering their prices, without governmental regulations.
The White House also revealed that the two exclusive pharmaceutical distributors responsible for over 80% of the medication’s distribution — CVS Specialty Pharmacy and Express Scripts Freedom Fertility Pharmacy — informed the government that they would "substantially curtail expenses tied to managing the drug, whilst maintaining accessibility to all families desiring to utilize it."
RFK JR. suggests a correlation between decreased birth rates and endocrine disruptors
During the White House media address on Thursday, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. alleged that the diminished rate of births is connected to endocrine disruptors.
"During my uncle’s presidency, the fertility rate across the nation reached 3.5%. Currently, it’s at 1.6%. The rate of replacement, specifically the required fertility to maintain a balanced population, is 2.1%. We’re presently below the replacement benchmark," articulated Kennedy. "This presents a matter of national security concerning our country, and we’re aware of the contributing factors. President Trump is tackling the primary triggers through his MAHA approach, designed to mitigate endocrine disruptors, the exposures, and chemicals that impede fertility.”
A plethora of studies, encompassing a recent publication in Fertility and Sterility, advocate that socio-economic variables such as delayed family planning, elevated child-rearing expenses, evolving cultural trends, access to contraception, and modifications in lifestyle persist as the probable determinants of the decline in childbirth observed during the last half-century.
Extensive examination of survey and census statistics implies that escalated education levels, professional engagements, metropolitan lifestyles, and precarious economic situations represent key contributors associated with reduced rates of procreation. Furthermore, a 2024 Pew survey among young individuals who express doubts about having offspring underscores that upwards of 36% designate financial constraints as the prime motivator.
Endocrine disruptors encompass a spectrum of chemicals capable of interfering with the body’s hormones, orchestrating growth, reproduction, metabolism, and overall development.
Specific studies propose that these chemicals hold the capacity to impair reproductive abilities in both animals and humans. Recent findings published in a Scientific Reports paper disclosed a correlation connecting elevated levels of exposure to compromised sperm quality, suboptimal IVF outcomes, and amplified risks of infertility; however, they did not conclude that these compounds constitute the chief cause underlying the fertility rate decline.
Kennedy has been voicing parallel arguments dating back to at least 2022, when engaging with podcaster Jordan Peterson, he expressed that we are “immersed within a concoction of noxious chemicals … a significant portion of which act as endocrine disruptors,” referencing a frog study involving atrazine, which “chemically emasculated and coerced feminization … onto male frogs.” He proceeded to supplement, lacking substantiation, “Should this impact frogs in this capacity, there’s ample further evidence to suggest analogous implications for the human species.”
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
