In late June, the Atlantic ran an article titled “The Birth-Rate Crisis Isn’t as Bad as You’ve Heard — It’s Worse.” It posited that global fertility decline is happening much faster than official projections suggest. If the decline is not reversed, the article warned, the whole world will face profound economic challenges and “a smaller, sadder, poorer future.” While not all analysts believe that falling birth rates spell this level of economic catastrophe, enough do to mainstream the concern.

In the United States, where the birth rate has fallen in the last two decades from a healthy 2.1 per woman to a sub-replacement-level 1.6, the Right has already established a near-monopoly on the discourse. And they’re wasting no opportunity to use the issue to advance their reactionary agenda, proffering declining birth rates as evidence of cultural decadence and feminist overreach.

From J. D. Vance’s jabs at “childless cat ladies” to Elon Musk’s personal insemination mission, conservatives are positioning themselves as the defenders of family and future against a society committing demographic suicide under the Left’s nihilistic influence. Having dubbed himself the “fertilization president,” Donald Trump is reportedly considering an array of childbearing incentives, from the welcome but insufficient (a $5,000 “baby bonus” for new mothers) to the jarring and ominous (a National Medal of Motherhood awarded to women who have six or more children).