Trump White House Champions Baby Boom Efforts

The Conservative Movement’s Pronatalist Shift: A Push for Larger Families in America

The American conservative movement has traditionally placed the nuclear family at the core of its cultural and economic ideology. Recently, however, there has been a notable shift towards promoting not just family formation, but larger families. This is particularly important in light of decreasing fertility rates across the United States, leading to the emergence of a ‘pronatalist’ stance within right-wing circles advocating for increased childbearing.

As fertility rates have continued to decline, a group of conservative thinkers and politicians has emerged, suggesting that government policy should actively incentivize childbirth. With the prospect of Donald Trump returning to power, this pronatalist movement is gaining unprecedented traction and influence.

Broadly defined, this movement supports various measures: from increasing financial assistance for families with multiple children to providing affordable pathways to higher education that would enable parents to start families sooner. Additionally, there are calls for better support for those experiencing infertility, as well as initiatives that promote childbearing as a form of national service. Recently, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, a father of nine, even indicated plans to allocate federal funds to communities with high marriage and birth rates, embodying the movement’s objectives.

Despite these ambitions, progress has been slow. Patrick Brown, a fellow at the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center focused on family policy, noted the mixed results of the administration’s approach to family issues amidst a myriad of other priorities, including significant cuts across various government sectors. This has led to frustrations among pronatalists, who warn that the push for larger families is being overshadowed by more aggressive political agendas such as mass deportations and protectionism.

A significant challenge facing the movement is its lack of a unified message. Notably, the term "natalism" encompasses a range of beliefs and policies that vary among conservatives. Vice President JD Vance is known for his outspoken views against childlessness, advocating strongly for increased birth rates. In contrast, tech mogul Elon Musk, who has fathered numerous children with multiple partners, is driven by a different rationale—his belief that a declining population poses a dire threat to human civilization.

These two figures highlight a philosophical divide within the pronatalist movement. Vance’s camp, primarily motivated by religious beliefs and traditional family values, emphasizes not only the necessity of increasing birth rates but also the preservation of traditional norms surrounding family formation. Many advocates in this camp express skepticism toward assisted reproductive technologies, preferring family structures rooted in conventional ideals.

Conversely, Musk’s perspective is more pragmatic and aligned with economic considerations, championing assisted reproductive methods and genetic selection to counteract declining fertility rates. He and his wife have proposed various policy changes aimed at creating a supportive environment for parents, reflecting their intentions to expand family sizes through more inclusive and diverse methods.

Nevertheless, the movement faces a significant lack of cohesion, lacking a unified advocacy group or clear political platform to support its initiatives or hold lawmakers accountable. While they share common desires for improved tax policies and safety net programs, differences in priorities and beliefs complicate potential collaborations. Another area of agreement centers around making the child tax credit more generous, with calls for financial incentives to better support new parents.

Despite bipartisan agreement among some Democrats on the necessity of supporting families, the underlying motivations differ. Democrats generally favor these policies to enhance living standards rather than purely to boost reproduction, highlighting a potential ideological rift that may complicate cooperative efforts to address family needs.

Moreover, pronatalists are increasingly recognizing that cultural factors play a pivotal role in influencing birth rates. For example, Israel boasts the highest fertility rates in the developed world at 2.9 children per woman, largely due to a unique blend of nationalism and deep-seated religiosity that cannot be easily replicated elsewhere.

Concerns are also being raised about potential authoritarian measures to boost population numbers, with organizations like Population Connection arguing that efforts to increase fertility might have negative social implications. Meanwhile, many young people are increasingly hesitant to have children due to environmental concerns and the desire to avoid putting further strain on the planet.

In conclusion, while the conservative movement is making strides toward a robust pronatalist agenda, it is hindered by internal divisions and broader economic challenges. Many in the movement believe more structured policymaking focused on family formation should be established, highlighting the need for a dedicated commission or czar to facilitate these efforts. Addressing these challenges will be crucial if the pronatalist movement hopes to create a significant impact on American family structures in the years to come.