The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops filed formal objections this week to a proposed federal regulation that would expand insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization, arguing the rule fails to adequately protect religious conscience and advocate instead for what the Church calls “restorative reproductive medicine.”
The USCCB submitted a 17-page public comment on July 13 to the U.S. Department of Labor opposing the regulation, which stems from an executive order President Trump signed in February 2025. The rule, announced in May by the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury, would create a new category of limited insurance benefits for IVF treatment, modeled after existing dental and vision coverage.
The Catholic Position on IVF
The Catholic Church opposes in vitro fertilization on fundamental grounds: the procedure separates reproduction from the marital act and frequently results in the destruction of human embryos. From the Church’s perspective, these factors violate human dignity at its foundation. The bishops’ intervention in the regulatory process aimed to ensure that conscience protections for employers and employees remain robust in any final rule.
The USCCB urged the government to clarify that employers offering fertility benefits need not cover any particular service, allowing religious organizations and individuals with moral objections to decline participation without penalty. The bishops also called for explicit protections of religious liberty and conscience rights for both employers and employees in the final regulation.
A Different Path Forward
Rather than simply opposing the expansion, the bishops proposed an alternative framework: investment in what they term “restorative reproductive medicine.” This approach seeks to identify and treat the underlying causes of infertility, aiming to restore normal reproductive function rather than bypass it through assisted reproductive technologies.
“The proposed rule represents a valuable opportunity to advance real solutions to infertility that respect the God-given dignity of parents and of children, born and preborn,” the USCCB Office of General Counsel wrote in the comment.
William J. Quinn, the USCCB’s General Counsel, noted in the submission that “the USCCB therefore evaluates the proposed rule both positively and critically.” The bishops acknowledged that any effort to address infertility merits consideration, while maintaining fundamental reservations about the specific mechanism proposed.
Broader Catholic Coalition
The USCCB was not alone in its objection. The National Catholic Bioethics Center, the Catholic Medical Association, and the National Association of Catholic Nurses USA filed a similar public comment on the same issues, with particular emphasis on the inadequacy of conscience protections in the proposed rule.
The bishops submitted their comment on July 13, the final day of the federal public comment window. The submission reflects a coordinated effort by Catholic leadership to shape the regulatory outcome in a way that respects both the legitimate health needs of infertile couples and the moral convictions of Catholics and other religious believers.
The Trump administration is now reviewing the public comments received during the comment period. The final regulation, expected in the coming months, will determine whether the conscience protections sought by the bishops are incorporated into the rule or whether the expansion of IVF insurance coverage proceeds with minimal religious exemptions.