Baldwin, Michigan.

Like most of her family and friends, Cooper voted for Donald Trump. One big reason was his promise, at a Michigan campaign rally, to make In Vitro Fertilization free. The issue was uppermost in Cooper’s thoughts because she and her husband had been trying for more than a year to have a child through IVF.

Trump’s election has made a difference in Cooper’s life – but not the difference she was hoping for. Less than a month after the inauguration, she got a text message from her union rep warning her that she was about to lose her job – a $40,000-a-year position with the U.S. forestry service inspecting and marking trees for local loggers. “My heart just sank,” she told the Washington Post. While she was still processing the news of her unemployment, the White House issued an executive order on in vitro fertilization access. The order did not call for IVF to be made free. It spoke of lowering prices, with no specifics. The order was issued under the heading “Delivering on Promises for American families.”

Date Posted: 3/10/25