Birth rates are on the decline and tension between genders are on the rise world wide. Why? Because the people in power simply aren’t giving women anything to work with.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2024, the birth rate in the United States dropped to an all-time low with less than 1.6 children born per woman. Factors such as rising costs of living and the constant attacks on reproductive rights for women across the U.S. have contributed to this.
For example due to the overturning of Roe V. Wade as of Jan. 8, 12 states across the U.S. have banned abortion according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Overall, I believe the fault of the declining birth rates in the U.S. lies on the Republican party. Despite Republicans claiming to be the party of traditional family values, their policies make it downright unrealistic to take care of children or even want to have children.
Policies such as the overturning of Roe V. Wade and the rising costs of many things, including housing, is making it harder to take care of yourself, let alone a child. Why would women want to have children in an era where they don’t have control over their own reproductive rights?
In America, the constant attacks on reproductive rights for women makes the reality of having children scary.
On average, nationwide,without insurance — the cost of giving birth to a baby costs $18,865. With health insurance, it’s about $2,854 on average, according to UW Health.
Taking care of a baby for the first year of its life will cost between $16,007 and $17,141, according to USAFacts.org.
According to a Pew Research Center poll conducted on adults in the U.S. under the age of 50 in 2024, the rate of adults who said they are unlikely to have kids is growing.
The survey cites reasons such as not wanting to have kids, being unable to afford taking care of kids and concerns about the state of society.
Sahara Santschi, a junior anthropology major, said she believes the declining birth rate is a non-issue in the U.S.
“I just don’t see any, like, economic or social issue with that (declining birth rates),” Santschi said. “I think more people are just choosing to not have kids or start families on their own terms,.”
Santschi also believes that there needs to be more economic stability. for the U.S. birth rate to return to normal. “I think better economic stability for Americans would help facilitate that,” Santschi said. “People would feel comfortable having kids and starting families if they felt it was more possible to achieve financial stability to be able to safely raise a family.”
If we want birth rates to return to a normal level it is necessary to realize that women do not owe anyone children, it is not the obligation of women to be birthers or caregivers to children. As well, making the cost of living affordable will help to return the birth rate to a normal rate.
We must protect reproductive rights and make it more affordable to have children.
