Reducing the number of births part of the political debate in the USA!

In this election season, being a parent is also politicized. As the birth rate in the United States declines and more Americans decide not to start families, some warn of a collapse of the American economy and society. But, as Voice of America correspondent Tina Trinh reports, experts say it's not that simple.

Americans are having fewer children. Births have fallen to a historic low, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The issue became part of the presidential campaign when a 2021 video resurfaced in which Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance says Democrats prefer pets to children.

"We're practically run in this country by Democrats, by corporate oligarchs, by a handful of cat-obsessed childless women," he said in 2021.

Mr. Vance has called Democrats anti-family.

"If society doesn't make enough children to reproduce, that's a deeply dangerous and destabilizing thing. If you don't have children, you don't have a future. There can be no future generations. We need to have stable, healthy, happy families," said Mr. Vance.

"I think we need to be aware that the birth rate has changed, as this fundamentally changes the labor supply. This creates various problems for our resources, but whether we should raise the alarm or not, this is another story", says Jennifer Sciubba, head of the non-profit organization "Population Reference Bureau".

She says fewer births could result in fewer workers, which could strain the economy.

But, she adds, it's more complicated than that.

"It's never just the number of employees, but how well their skills, education and stage in life match the demands of the labor market," says Ms. Sciubba.

Others point out that the issue is less about the birth rate than who is having the babies.

"If you say you're 'very concerned about the decline in fertility,' then you should point out that this decline is mostly among white women. So the concern is really that white, educated women are not having more children," says Julia Hellwege, of the Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota.

Meanwhile, figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the highest birth rates in the United States are expected to be among people of color, who also have higher maternal mortality rates.

Overall, however, the rate of global population growth has slowed over the past five decades.

"Globally, the total fertility rate, or the average number of children born per woman, is about 2.2, just above the appropriate level for population regeneration. And it just goes to show that there are so many places in the world, in fact, 2 out of every 3 people in the world, who live somewhere with a birth rate that is lower than what is needed," says Ms Sciubba.

The declining birth rate in the United States can be attributed to changing attitudes. A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that 47% of adults ages 18 to 49 say they are unlikely to ever have children, and of those, 57% say it's because they just don't want to.

The moniker "Ladies with cats and no kids" seems to be a badge of honor for some. Pop star Taylor Swift recently used the label when she endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.