Abby McCloskey, The Dallas Morning News, May 12, 2025

It’s Mother’s Day. For this mother of three, I have a feeling that the holiday is either about to lose its luster, as fewer people relate to parenthood, or become the crown jewel in the pro-natalist MAGA culture war. The next “Merry Christmas,” if you will.

American women have an average of 1.63 children each. Humanity’s survival requires an average of at least 2.1. This puts America on a path to a shrinking population with terrible consequences, impacting everything from the federal budget to caretakers to the workforce. Unsurprisingly, policymakers have some thoughts about how to fix it.