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New York Post
6 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
Buttigieg says Dems should follow Trump's ‘pro-family' promises — including expanded coverage for IVF treatment
Advertisement Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg told 'Pod Save America' on Sunday that it would be a good idea for Democrats to adopt the Trump campaign's promise to expand coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. 'Do you think Democrats should run on Trump's promise from the campaign that, you know, insurance companies should be required to cover IVF and fertility treatments?' co-host Jon Favreau asked. 'I think it's good policy,' Buttigieg answered. 'I mean, if we're really serious about being pro-family, then we need to make sure that we support that. And that means making sure whether it's a system of direct government support or whether it's ensuring that that's part of what you can get from private healthcare.' He added, 'By the way, you know, I think that the right has been weird about it, but I don't think we should scoff at those who are interested in making sure that we encourage more people to be able to start families and have more kids if they want to, especially if the reason they're not doing it is artificial issues around cost or access to care.' Advertisement 4 Buttigieg said that the expansion of IVF is a good policy that is 'pro-family.' Pod Save America / YouTube 4 Lab staff prepare small petri dishes, each holding several 1-7 day old embryos, for cells to be extracted from each embryo to test for viability at the Aspire Houston Fertility Institute in vitro fertilization lab Feb. 27, 2024, in Houston. AP Favreau claimed—citing a critical Washington Post report—that President Donald Trump failed to keep his campaign promise regarding IVF treatments for women during his second term. The headline read, 'White House has no plan to mandate IVF care, despite campaign pledge.' White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told the Washington Post in response to its report that the president's work to expand IVF access was ongoing. Advertisement 'President Trump pledged to expand access to fertility treatments for Americans who are struggling to start families,' Jackson said in a statement. 'The Administration is committed like none before to using its authorities to deliver on this pledge.' 4 President Donald Trump speaks at an event to mark National Purple Heart Day in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Washington. AP In February, Trump signed an executive order aiming to expand access to IVF and other fertility treatments through the reduction of out-of-pocket costs. The order directed the Domestic Policy Council to find ways to make IVF and other fertility treatments more affordable. Fox News Digital reached out to the DNC for comment. Advertisement Since the 2024 election, Buttigieg has criticized his party's approach to reaching voters, going so far as to mock its obsession with diversity. 4 Joe Biden speaks alongside Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (L) during a briefing on Hurricane Helene response and recovery efforts, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on October 1, 2024 in Washington, DC. AFP via Getty Images 'What do we mean when we talk about diversity? Is it caring for people's different experiences and making sure no one is mistreated because of them, which I will always fight for? 'Or is it making people sit through a training that looks like something out of 'Portlandia,' which I have also experienced,' Buttigieg said at a forum in February. 'And it is how Trump Republicans are made,' Buttigieg added.
CTV News
16-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
World-first IVF trial reduces risk of babies inheriting diseases
FILE - Lab staff prepare small petri dishes, holding embryos, for cells to be extracted to test for viability at the Aspire Houston Fertility Institute Feb. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke, File) Eight healthy babies have been born in the U.K. using a new IVF technique that successfully reduced their risk of inheriting genetic diseases from their mothers, the results of a world-first trial said Wednesday. The findings were hailed as a breakthrough which raises hopes that women with mutations in their mitochondrial DNA could one day have children without passing debilitating or deadly diseases on to the children. One out of every 5,000 births is affected by mitochondrial diseases, which cannot be treated, and include symptoms such as impaired vision, diabetes and muscle wasting. In 2015, Britain became the first country to approve an in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) technique that uses a small amount of healthy mitochondrial DNA from the egg of a donor -- along with the mother's egg and father's sperm. Some have called the result of this process 'three-parent babies', though researchers have pushed back at this term because only roughly 0.1 percent of the newborn's DNA comes from the donor. The results of the much-awaited U.K. trial were published in several papers in the New England Journal of Medicine. 'Important reproductive option' Out of 22 women to undergo the treatment at the Newcastle Fertility Centre in northeast England, eight babies were born. The four boys and four girls now range from under six months to over two years old. The amount of mutated mitochondrial DNA -- which causes disease -- was reduced by 95-100 percent in six of the babies, according to the research. For the other two newborns, the amount fell by 77-88 percent, which is below the range that causes disease. This indicates the technique was 'effective in reducing transmission' of diseases between mother and child, one of the studies said. The eight children are currently healthy, though one had a disturbance of their heart's rhythm which was successfully treated, the researchers said. Their health will be followed up over the coming years to see if problems arise. Nils-Goran Larsson, a Swedish reproductive expert not involved in the research, hailed the 'breakthrough'. The new technique offers a 'very important reproductive option' for families affected by 'devastating' mitochondrial diseases, he added. Ethical review Mitochondrial donation remains controversial and has not been approved in many countries, including the United States and France. Religious leaders have opposed the procedure because it involves the destruction of human embryos. Other opponents have expressed fears it could pave the way for genetically engineered 'designer babies'. An ethical review carried out by the U.K.'s independent Nuffield Council on Bioethics was 'instrumental' in conducting the new research, the council's director Danielle Hamm said Wednesday. Peter Thompson, head of the U.K.'s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority which approved the procedure, said only people with a 'very high risk' of passing on a mitochondrial disease would be eligible for the treatment. Ethical concerns have also been raised over the use of mitochondrial donation for infertility in Greece and Ukraine. French mitochondrial disease specialist Julie Stefann told AFP that 'it is a question of the risk-benefit ratio: for a mitochondrial disease, the benefit is obvious'. 'In the context of infertility, it has not been proven,' she added. Oxford University reproductive genetics expert Dagan Wells observed that 'some scientists will be a little disappointed that so much time and effort has, so far, only led to the birth of eight children'. Among the children being closely monitored are three that showed some signs of what is known as 'reversal', which is still little understood. It is 'a phenomenon where the therapy initially succeeds in producing an embryo with very few defective mitochondria, but by the time the child is born the proportion of abnormal mitochondria in its cells has significantly increased,' he explained.
