A sobering new report finds the U.S. fertility rate has hit a 40-year low. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimate that there were about 3.85 million births in 2017, which translates into a total fertility rate (TFR – the number of children a woman will have in her lifespan) of about 1.76 births per woman.
That’s way below the fertility rate needed merely to replace the current population, about 2.1 births per woman. It also marks a dramatic drop since 2007, when there were 4.31 million births, and the TFR was 2.08.
Anti-natalist and population control advocates are celebrating the news. One author, writing in Reason magazine, greeted the report with a “Hooray!” “Because time and money are limited, more Americans are exercising their reproductive freedom,” wrote Ronald Bailey, “making the tradeoff between having more children and pursuing the satisfactions of career, travel, and lifestyle. That’s a good thing.”
The Value of Motherhood
In the first place, however, it’s not at all clear that the reduction in the U.S. fertility rate is due to the free choice of women. Since the 1970s, there has been a significant gap between the number of children that women say they would like to have (currently about 2.7), and the number they actually do have. That gap has only increased in recent years.
If liberals are as concerned as they say they are that women have the freedom to pursue their dreams unencumbered, perhaps they should inquire why women are not achieving their self-professed ideal family sizes. I suspect that if they did so, they would find a plethora of uncomfortable answers, including the existence of . . .
(Click here to continue reading this article.)Sincerely yours in Christ,
That’s way below the fertility rate needed merely to replace the current population, about 2.1 births per woman. It also marks a dramatic drop since 2007, when there were 4.31 million births, and the TFR was 2.08.
Anti-natalist and population control advocates are celebrating the news. One author, writing in Reason magazine, greeted the report with a “Hooray!” “Because time and money are limited, more Americans are exercising their reproductive freedom,” wrote Ronald Bailey, “making the tradeoff between having more children and pursuing the satisfactions of career, travel, and lifestyle. That’s a good thing.”
The Value of Motherhood
In the first place, however, it’s not at all clear that the reduction in the U.S. fertility rate is due to the free choice of women. Since the 1970s, there has been a significant gap between the number of children that women say they would like to have (currently about 2.7), and the number they actually do have. That gap has only increased in recent years.
If liberals are as concerned as they say they are that women have the freedom to pursue their dreams unencumbered, perhaps they should inquire why women are not achieving their self-professed ideal family sizes. I suspect that if they did so, they would find a plethora of uncomfortable answers, including the existence of . . .
(Click here to continue reading this article.)Sincerely yours in Christ,
Father Shenan J. Boquet President, Human Life International
Human Life International4 Family Life Lane ● Front Royal, VA 22630www.hli.org● 540-635-7884 ● hli@hli.orgConnect with HLI:
