KQED's Forum What’s Behind the Trump Administration’s Push for More Children?
May 12, 2025
Carter Sherman, a reproductive health reporter for The Guardian and author of the upcoming book “The Second Coming,” teams up with Faith Hill, a staff writer at The Atlantic. They dive into the Trump administration's efforts to boost birth rates through controversial policies like baby bonuses and menstrual cycle classes. The conversation explores the ideological underpinnings of pronatalism, its impact on diverse family dynamics, and the challenges in addressing the needs of potential parents in today's society.
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Definition and Roots of Pronatalism
- Pronatalism means the state should incentivize having more babies due to declining birth rates in the U.S.
- It is primarily a right-wing ideology linking tech conservatives with traditional family values advocates.
Traditional Family Bias in Pronatalism
- Proposed pronatalist policies favor traditional families: married heterosexual couples with biological children.
- These policies risk ignoring the diversity of modern family structures in the U.S.
Budget Cuts Conflict with Pronatalism
- Trump administration cuts to Medicaid and Head Start contradict their pronatalist claims.
- Little alignment exists between budget cuts and policies to make childbearing more affordable for most families.