President Trump credited U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) with transforming his position on IVF access at a White House maternal health event Monday, calling her “a fantastic woman” and “a great senator” as his administration unveiled its most sweeping pro-family package yet.
“She’s the one that got me into this, I have to tell you,” Trump said in introducing Britt at the Oval Office event.
Trump recalled the phone call from Britt after the Alabama Supreme Court’s 2024 embryo ruling that rattled families across the state and temporarily shuttered fertility clinics.
“I wasn’t an expert on IVF, but I have common sense,” Trump said. “She called me up, she said, ‘Sir, women have come to me and almost attacked me, and they’re my best friends.’”
Trump said his support for protecting IVF formed within minutes of that conversation.
Britt described Monday’s announcements as the fulfillment of that moment.
“This is another example of promises made, promises kept,” Britt said.
“We look at what President Trump did when we dealt with this issue in Alabama. He stepped up to the plate immediately to make sure that we had nationwide access to IVF, making sure that we had comprehensive fertility treatment, so that men and women, couples who were longing for their child could continue to have that hope and also have that reality. Today doubles down on that yet again.”
The centerpiece of Monday’s event was a proposed Department of Labor rule creating a new standalone fertility benefit that employers can offer outside traditional health insurance, similar to dental or vision coverage. The rule carries a $120,000 lifetime benefit cap per worker and builds on Trump’s February executive order expanding IVF access.
Britt said the change puts fertility care within reach for families who have been priced out.
“There are people right now who this is out of reach because of affordability, and President Trump is bringing that back in,” Britt said.
The event also highlighted the launch of Moms.gov, a federal resource site for expecting and new mothers that went live on Mother’s Day.
Britt said she worked on the concept alongside then-Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Kevin Cramer, and Sen. Eric Schmitt before Trump put it into action. The site offers guidance on prenatal care, postpartum support, breastfeeding, mental health, and early childhood development.
“Moms are the heartbeats of our families, our communities, and our country,” Britt said. “President Trump knows that and he’s made sure we’ve created a comprehensive culture of life.”
Britt tied the agenda directly to Alabama, noting that roughly 28% of women in the state live in a maternal care desert. She pointed to the working families tax cuts, where she led the effort to modernize the tax code around childcare for the first time since the Reagan administration.
“We don’t want affordability or accessibility to be an impediment,” Britt said, noting that an estimated 450,000 women left the workforce last year due to childcare costs.
Trump also recalled his decision to endorse Britt.
“I said, ‘Who’s that young woman I met?’ I was so impressed,” Trump said. “I talked to her, I endorsed her. She won in a landslide. And you’ve been winning in landslides ever since.”
Sawyer Knowles is a capitol reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
