President Trump, along with his advisors, are currently in the process of debating government programs to incentivize families to have children and thereby fight the declining birth rate.

As previously noted, America’s birth rate is in a steep, dangerous decline with the projected birth rate number for 2025 being only 1.62 children per family.

This is well below the replacement rate.

However, America is not the only nation dealing with this dangerous trend. Countries like Russia, Finland, Australia, South Korea, Japan, and many more all face the same grim future.

Without enough people to occupy and contribute to a country, eventually, you will not have a country.

With this ominous reality in mind, the Trump Administration has dedicated itself to brainstorming programs and policies that would both incentivize families to have children and reward large families.

These policies include the following:

• Reserving nearly one-third of the government-funded Fulbright scholarships for applicants who are either married or already have children,
• Devoting a portion of federal funding to women’s education regarding the relationship between their menstrual cycles and conception, and
• Awarding $5,000 to mothers after each labor and delivery.

While all of these programs would be extremely beneficial to families, angry feminists on the Left have serious problems with them, even though many other countries have enacted the same policies.

The common refrain from angry feminists is that Trump simply wants women to “breed more laborers for his capitalist society.”

The irony of course is that the same feminists who complain about “breeding for capitalism” are those who have dedicated themselves to climbing the corporate American ladder… in a capitalist society.

Despite the anger from feminists, we as conservatives have to ask if these policies will actually help the birth rate in the long run.

S.A. McCarthy from The Washington Stand accurately notes,

“Other nations, including, Australia, China, Estonia, Finland, and Japan have similar programs, providing financial rewards or incentives to mothers and families in an effort to increase birthrates. However, Australia’s TFR has fallen to the historic low of 1.5, China’s to 1.0, Estonia’s to 1.31, Finland’s to 1.25, and Japan’s to 1.26, all well below the 2.1 needed to maintain population stability. The pronounced decline in birthrates is not being halted by financial programs incentivizing having children but worsening — in most cases to historic lows — despite such programs.”

This gets at the root problem of America’s (and the world’s) declining birth rate. It is not a lack of financial incentives (although these can be helpful).

America’s declining birth rate is the symptom of a deeper problem– a spiritual one.

For decades, the American culture has turned its back on God– denying His authority over life and the design of the family.

Mary Szoch, who is the director of the Center for Human Dignity at Family Research Council noted in a comment to The Washington Stand,

“It seems to me that people aren’t having children because of a plethora of other reasons…

Providing funding for restorative reproductive medicine so that couples can find and fix the root cause of their infertility would be a great start.

Addressing the fact that both the porn industry and the social media industry are targeting, attacking, and addicting children and teens — preventing their brains from developing properly and later preventing those children from forming lasting relationships — would also be helpful.

Passing legislation allowing school choice so that families can afford to send their kids to schools where their faith will be strengthened and where values of courage, selflessness, and true love will be taught is another idea.”

While there is nothing wrong with providing families with financial incentives and benefits when it comes to having a family, these alone will not fix the declining birth rate in America.

The decline in our nation’s birth rate is directly linked to our spiritual condition as a nation. For decades, the philosophies of feminism, gender ideology, and “sex with no consequences” have reigned– leading to abortion, sexual perversion, and a demonic view of children.

The only thing that can fix the declining birthrate in America is a return to the God of the Bible– repenting for our rebellion against Him and resubmitting ourselves as a nation to His perfect design and intention for children and the family.