Economist: Pro-Natalist Conference in Austin Sparks Controversy

    Economist: Pro-Natalist Conference in Austin Sparks Controversy
    Image credit: Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/Getty Images

    The Spin


    Left narrative

    Republicans cloak their cruelty in so-called "family values," which don't actually help families at all. Their pro-natalist crusade — pushing women to have more babies while gutting SNAP, Medicaid and child care — isn't about nurturing families but preserving White dominance. Trump's "fertilization" agenda flatters Great Replacement paranoia, using motherhood as a dog whistle for White supremacy.

    Right narrative

    Pro-natalism shouldn't be a right-wing monopoly, but the left made it one — deriding motherhood, treating birth as pathology and branding concern for family formation as so-called "white supremacy." That contempt, which is always aimed most scornfully toward White families and children, turns love of children into a culture war. Supporting all American babies isn't bigotry; it's morally and societally necessary.


    Go Deeper

    © 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 7.7.3

    © 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

    All rights reserved.

    Version 7.7.3