As birthrates tumble, some progressives say the left needs to offer ideas and solutions
www.npr.org

... When Emma Brennan and Lauren Wright got married last year, the couple began weighing seriously whether or not to have a child. "A lot of people our age are not having kids, or are waiting, and they have a great life regardless," Brennan said.

Wright and Brennan, who live in what they describe as a liberal enclave of Baltimore, said they lean toward wanting to be parents, but the world often feels like a scary place to raise children. They worry about climate change, rising income inequality, and America's polarized politics. "We have conversations about the state of the world," Wright said.

Like a lot of young, liberal-leaning Americans, they've heard about falling birthrates, and the world's rapidly shifting demographics. But they said the most prominent voices offering ideas and solutions are coming from the political right. "That whole Trump thing, we'll give you a bunch of money" to have a baby, Brennan said, sounding skeptical.

Emma Brennan, Lauren Wright and their cat, TV, sit in their home, in Baltimore, MD on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026.
Wesley Lapointe for NPR

A growing number of researchers, and thinkers on the left, told NPR they worry that progressive leaders have largely opted out of the growing public discussion over birthrates and shrinking families, ceding the policy space to right-wing voices.

"If progressives don't want to talk about it, and self-censor, then no one is going to talk about things that might impact progressives," said Alice Evans, who studies gender issues at Kings College London and is currently a visiting professor at Stanford University. ...

As families shrink, the right takes the lead

Birthrates around the world, including in the U.S., are dropping steadily, to a level that demographers say falls well below the number of children per woman -- roughly 2.1 on average -- needed to maintain a stable population. The "total fertility rate" in the U.S. has fallen to a record low of 1.6, while in many countries the rate has dropped below one child per woman on average. ...