This post originally appeared at https://wifamilycouncil.org/radio/fertility_crisis/

2025 | Week of August 18 | Radio Transcript #1632

For years liberal progressives have claimed our world is headed toward an overpopulation crisis, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest data reveals the opposite crisis–a fertility crisis.

For decades, Wisconsin, the United States, and the world has experienced steadily declining birth rates. For a variety of reasons, young adults are choosing to delay parenthood—or to forgo it altogether. This trend has led to the lowest fertility rate ever recorded in the United States: one point five nine babies per woman of childbearing age, well below the replacement rate of two point one babies.

The consequences of decreased population are numerous and far-reaching: empty classrooms, worker shortages, a reduced tax base, and even sustainability of entire cultures.

Despite the lack of attention until recent years, the fertility crisis has been brewing for decades. Wisconsin has been below the replacement birth rate since 1974. Here, we’re already beginning to experience the toll of over 50 years of too few babies being born.

The Wisconsin Department of Administration projects that Wisconsin’s population will decrease by nearly two hundred thousand by the year 2050.[i] According to these projections, at least 31 Wisconsin counties will experience a 15 percent population decline by 2050. Imagine a world where 15 percent of homes, businesses, and churches are vacant. For these counties, that world is only 25 years away from reality.

In light of the consequences of this trend, various policy has been suggested to incentivize young adults to have children. For example, President Trump’s administration has considered giving women a “baby bonus” of five thousand dollars after giving birth.[ii] Other policy incentives include paid maternity leave and government-funded daycare options. Yet, the examples of many countries show that even extensive financial benefits do not convince young people to have children.

In Norway, parents are granted 12 months of shared paid leave after giving birth; and they receive child benefit until their children reach the age of 18. However, instead of increasing, birth rates in Norway are rapidly plummeting to an all-time low of one point four.[iii] Similar trends in other places demonstrate a need to look more deeply into the reasons that young people are choosing to delay or forgo parenthood.

First, a shift in priorities. While marriage and family were once the expected trajectory for most people in society, the cultural expectations have shifted. Today, young people are encouraged to pursue education and a career and then fit in marriage and children later. Accepting these cultural expectations, many young adults prioritize career over family. But by the time they have established their career and are beginning to consider starting a family, many women have passed their most fertile years and may experience difficulty in conceiving, which contributes to fewer children being born.[iv]

Second, changes in parenting. Recent societal expectations cause many young adults to believe parenting more than one or two children is impossible. The most common style of parenting today is known as intensive parenting—where parents unhealthily obsess over preparing their children to be successful adults by signing them up for multiple extracurriculars and attempting to be involved in their children’s lives to an unrealistic extent. These unrealistic expectations of good parenting factor into why many young adults think having more than one or two children is simply impossible.[v]

Third, social media. Social media has created a false reality of what really matters in life. On a daily basis, women are inundated by a false picture of what success looks like: the dream job, the dream vacation, and the perfect physical appearance—all of which childbirth and childrearing affect.

Reversing the declining fertility rate begins with an ideological shift. We need to create an environment where marriage and family are celebrated, and women feel just as supported in raising children as they do in pursuing a career.

Families and churches need to present a true and biblical picture of what a meaningful life looks like: pouring into others, sharing the gospel, and leaving a legacy. Not surprisingly, parenthood fits perfectly into the biblical definition of a meaningful life. While choosing to start a family instead of chasing that dream job may not lead to a successful life in the worldly sense, many people find that raising children is the most rewarding, fulfilling, and joyful experience of their lives.

Psalm 127:3 says, “Lo, children are an heritage from the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” More than ever before, young people need to hear the message that God’s design for family is good.

For Wisconsin Family Council, this is Julaine Appling reminding you that God, through the prophet Hosea, said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

[i] https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2025/01/08/wisconsin–population–study–fertility.
[ii] https://www.newsweek.com/baby-bonus-america-5000-2063519
[iii] https://www.newsweek.com/real-reason-behind-birth-rate-decline-fertility-children-babies-2107692.
[iv] https://ifstudies.org/blog/fertility-rates-delayed-marriage-and-infertility
[v] https://www.newsweek.com/birth-rate-world-population-decline-scientists-explain-countries-2102445.

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