As GOP grapples with reproductive rights messaging, McCormick proposed an IVF tax credit. Is it feasible?

Days after the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade in late June, Dave McCormick released an ad that aimed to set the record straight on his position on abortion.

The Republican Senate candidate criticized an ad from his rival for the high-stakes Pennsylvania seat, incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.), that said McCormick supported a total abortion ban.

The attack ad was false, said McCormick, who promised voters that he would support exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother if elected — a departure from his position during his first Senate run in 2022 when McCormick had said he supported banning abortion except when the mother’s life is at risk. He now says he supports exceptions for rape, incest and the life of a mother and has said he opposes a national ban.

McCormick that same day rolled out a plan that sought to pivot the reproductive rights conversation away from abortion — not only did he pledge to oppose any efforts to restrict in vitro fertilization, McCormick proposed a large, refundable tax credit for people seeking fertility treatment.

Under the plan, Americans would be able to access a $15,000 refundable tax credit during two tax years over the course of their lifetime. The tax years do not have to be consecutive.

“That’s how you make this potentially life-changing treatment accessible to more families who are frankly not able to have children now,” McCormick said.

The proposal comes at a time when Republicans are grappling with messaging on reproductive health. In the two years since the elimination of federally protected abortion rights, Democrats have successfully leveraged state-level limitations on the procedure into votes.

Those on the left persistently argued that abortion was just the beginning and access to contraceptives and fertility treatment was next – a theory that seemed to be confirmed in February when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled embryos created during IVF were children. The ruling halted IVF in the state.

Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have often declared their support for the procedure, but McCormick’s announcement took rhetoric a step further by proposing tax credits to pay for it.

Casey, who was first elected to the Senate in 2006, said he was open to a tax credit but noted that Republicans have consistently opposed policies from Democrats that aim to protect access to IVF and contraceptives.

“If he were in the Senate he’d be on the side of the ones voting against it,’ Casey said in an interview.

Others who have worked on similar legislation say tax credits are not the best way to expand access to fertility treatment because of the treatment’s high up-front cost and political barriers.

Here is what to know about McCormick’s proposal and the surrounding debate.

Fertility treatment is already tax deductible, meaning patients can reduce their taxes by the amount of money they spent on treatment. But a credit would provide even more incentive, providing a refund up to that amount for patients even if they didn’t owe any taxes.

A spokeswoman for McCormick’s campaign said she wasn’t aware of a similar proposal at the national level or enacted at the state level.

McCormick, however, is not the first politician to recommend a tax credit for IVF.

Resolve, a nonprofit that advocates for those suffering from infertility, pushed for a similar credit about a decade ago. Barbara Collura, the organization’s CEO, said she worked with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., NY) and the late Rep. John Lewis (D., Ga.), to advocate for the policy but abandoned it after a few years where it failed to gain traction.

McCormick said in a statement to The Inquirer last week he would seek to ensure the potential tax credit was included in tax policy discussions next year.

“Tax policy will be a major focus for Congress in 2025 because of the expiring Trump Tax Cuts,” McCormick said. “... as Pennsylvania’s senator, I would work to advance this proposal and other pro-family policies, such as doubling the child tax credit.”

Collura, who has been working to make the existing adoption tax credit refundable, said cost is a major barrier to the policy.

Even on bipartisan issues, like adoption, Collura said cost has gotten in the way of her advocacy. She said that is even more difficult with IVF, which historically has been more partisan, and would be more expensive because more Americans would take advantage of it.

“My concern is the reality of trying to get this passed seems to me a really high road to climb,” Collura said, adding McCormick will need a very good strategy for getting the proposal through budget committees in the House and Senate.

When Resolve was pushing for a tax credit, Collura said, the bills it authored never got hearings let alone committee or floor votes.

The organization has also moved away from tax credits as the best way to expand access to fertility treatment.

Nancy Hirschmann, a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said McCormick’s proposal may not expand access as much as he hopes it would.

“It’s a fairly inefficient way to support IVF because you still have to come up with the $30,000 in the first place in order to get it refunded months later,” she said.

In recent years, Resolve has pushed for policies at the state and national level that expand insurance coverage to include fertility treatments.

The organization is also seeking federal protections for providers and patients and, most recently, backed a package of bills from Senate Democrats that sought to protect access to fertility treatment. The package was blocked by Senate Republicans last month.

“We need real health insurance coverage,” Collura said, noting that congress should start by expanding that coverage to military members and federal employees.

While the organization supports tax credits, Collura said it’s not their most urgent priority and she urged politicians like McCormick to reach out to the organization.

“$15,000 does a lot when you’re doing a foster care adoption. It does not do a lot when you’re doing IVF,” she said. “You’ve got still a real economic hill to climb.”

According to Resolve, 13 states have approved the health insurance policy at the state level. But the federal government has not taken similar action.

McCormick’s campaign said they were open to other policies that would help expand access.

“We thought the tax exemption was the cleanest most efficient way to help struggling couples, but we are open to any and all good ideas for promoting IVF,” McCormick spokeswoman Elizabeth Gregory said in an email.