The fact that Americans are having fewer kids in the modern day has been known for some time. Just last year, the U.S. birth rate reached a historic low after decreasing 3% from the year prior, and it's been on the decline since 2007.
But the trend has gained new attention after an interview with Republican vice presidential candidate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, resurfaced from 2021. In it, he criticized childless Americans.
"We're effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too," Vance told then Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Vance's comments then sparked outrage online from people without kids, with many defending their reasons behind not having any or asserting his words had no care for those dealing with infertility.
Why aren't Americans having more kids?
One woman who's defended her reasons is Amy Blackstone, author of the book "Childfree By Choice" and a sociology professor at the University of Maine. She told Scripps News her reasoning is that she just didn't want to have kids. The same can be said for many people today — particularly in the younger generation — according to a new Pew Research Center study.
The study looked into the growing share of women choosing not to have kids and the why behind it. U.S. adults aged 50 and older said the top reason they didn't have kids was that it just never happened, but nearly 60% of those under 50 said it was just because they don't want any.
The latter statistic has also been growing, with the share of Americans under 50 who say they're unlikely to ever have kids growing from 37% in 2018 to 47% in 2023.
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The study showed younger adults were at least 20% more likely than older respondents to say they didn't have kids because of their focus on careers or interests, their concerns about the state of the world or because they couldn't afford to raise a child.
Meanwhile, older adults (33%) were more likely to list not finding the right partner or infertility/medical reasons as to why they didn't have kids compared to younger Americans (24%).
How have attitudes toward having kids changed over time?
Blackstone said the main push behind changing mindsets is likely an increase in the discussion of choice, both in the choice to be a parent and the choice to be childfree.
The author told Scripps News that she believes these conversations about all that parenthood entails may increasingly be contributing to a woman's decision to have a child and the gravity of that choice.
"I think that we know very well from listening to the parents in our lives that parenthood is a transition that can be difficult for many people, is a change in life that should be taken seriously. It's a role that is important, is essential. I think even Vance would agree with that," Blackstone told Scripps News. "I think that is the change, that we're taking parenthood seriously and that we're looking at it thoughtfully, and it's a choice that people are making thoughtfully."
Still, Blackstone said she thinks people like Vance and others may see childfree women in a negative light in part due to our society's dependence on new residents, pointing to the economy depending on new workers, churches depending on new worshippers, the military depending on new soldiers and so forth.
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"We're supposed to believe that parenthood is the natural path for people, and were raised to believe that because so much of our social infrastructure is designed to depend on procreation," Blackstone told Scripps News. "We have created this mess that women will one day magically wake up and suddenly have a drive to become mothers."
Blackstone said the way forward is all about supporting one's choice, whether that be to become a parent or to not. She also said the reasons younger adults are giving as to why they don't want to procreate — such as rising childcare costs or worries about the future, as stated in the Pew survey — should be focus points for presidential candidates.
"I think that that's a very strong and clear message for policymakers," Blackstone said. "So for those who are concerned about declining birth rates and about folks who are saying, 'You know, I don't know if parenthood is for me,' we are hearing loud and clear what people who are in those childbearing years are concerned about."
To view Blackstone's full interview, watch the clip above.
