The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has urged Congress to reject proposed legislation that would mandate insurance coverage for IVF services. In an April 29 letter to lawmakers, the bishops expressed opposition to the HOPE with Fertility Services Act, introduced by U.S. Representative Zach Nunn, a Republican from Iowa, and backed by eight Republicans, nine Democrats, and one independent.
The bill would require group health insurance plans to cover infertility treatments, including IVF and fertility preservation services. Insurance companies that fail to comply would face fines up to $100 per day. While the bishops acknowledged suffering caused by infertility and expressed support for what they call "life-affirming, restorative reproductive medicine," they argued that IVF represents a fundamentally different approach they cannot endorse.
The bishops distinguished between restorative reproductive medicine, which they said involves diagnostic studies and monitoring to inform surgical or hormonal treatments, and IVF, which they characterized as "a relatively unregulated industry" in the United States. They raised concerns about the creation and disposition of embryos, noting that hundreds of thousands or millions of preborn children created through IVF are frozen indefinitely, used in implantation attempts, or discarded.
The letter also raised religious freedom concerns. The bishops warned that while some proponents argue the bill's placement within the Employee Retirement Income Security Act would exempt religious employers, many religious institutions choose to provide health insurance through ERISA specifically to avoid state-level insurance requirements that conflict with their consciences. A federal IVF mandate within ERISA would place these employers in a difficult position, they contended.
The letter was signed by Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, and Bishop Edward Burns of Dallas. The bishops concluded by stating they "strongly encourage licit means of easing this suffering" and implored Congress to recognize that "life-ending assisted reproductive technologies cannot be the solution."
The bill emerges after IVF became a prominent political issue following an Alabama Supreme Court ruling in 2024 that frozen embryos qualify as children under state wrongful death law. President Donald Trump responded by pledging federal action to increase IVF access, though the White House later backed away from a federal mandate, instead pursuing alternative approaches to reduce costs and expand coverage options.
