To the Editor:
Re “Why Are More and More People Passing Up Parenthood?,” by Anna Louie Sussman (Opinion guest essay, May 10):
The hand-wringing over America’s declining birthrate mistakes a public health triumph for a demographic crisis.
The inverse relationship between wealth and fertility is one of the most ironclad findings in demography. As nations prosper, birthrates fall. The United States arrived late to this reality because we have long been too prudish about contraception to achieve what other wealthy nations accomplished long ago.
The numbers are striking. Teenage pregnancies have dropped 85 percent since 1989. Among 18- to 19-year-olds, 70 percent. Meanwhile, pregnancies among women over 35 have been rising. Women are choosing when, not whether, to have children.
The Guttmacher Institute documents the mechanism: the widespread adoption of long-acting reversible contraceptives, accelerated by the Affordable Care Act. Women are now having the children they actually want.
The pro-natalists should stand down and allow the rest of us to celebrate.
Stephen Reichard Portland, Ore. The writer served as the chief operating officer for Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette from 2008 to 2012.
To the Editor:
Looking back at the Depression in the 1930s, world war in the 1940s, mutual assured destruction in the 1950s and social upheaval in the 1960s, I struggle to see today’s uncertainties as uniquely grim. Perhaps they seem so because young people today are less tolerant of uncertainty and more apt to avoid it when possible.
If that is the mind-set, they are not wrong about parenthood. Life will offer them few prospects that come with less certainty.
Michael Smith Georgetown, Ky.
To the Editor:
The author asserts that the biggest reason for fewer babies may be uncertainty. But why doesn’t the author consider that the biggest reason may be that women simply don’t want children?
Women of childbearing age today have options that women of previous generations did not. We are not dependent upon marriage for economic security. We can have a career and choose whether we want to marry and/or have children. Because of the options available to me (an older millennial), I have a career, I support myself financially and I have the choice of not having children.
I made that decision years ago, not because of the climate crisis or income inequality — though these are not unimportant — but because I did not feel a need or a want to have children. There aren’t any incentives that would induce me to have children either. The government could guarantee income, child care, education, etc. and I still wouldn’t have children.
I have no doubt that many women my age and younger are not having children because of uncertainty. The planet is on fire, income does not keep up with inflation and there’s a backlash against women’s rights. But sometimes the cause is more straightforward than what people expect it to be. Or want it to be.
Lex Armstrong Magnolia, Del.
To the Editor:
Anna Louie Sussman acknowledges that traditional religion is conducive to having children and even larger families. It must also be noted that biblical religion encourages childbirth within marriage. This is important for the mutual support of the couple and well-being of the nuclear family. It also is a great reminder of God’s providence in taking care of children. This hope for the future and optimism transcend fear of bringing new life into the world.
An important ingredient of Catholic marriage is the promise to have children and to raise them according to the teachings of the church, which is clearly stated in the ritual itself.
With Ms. Sussman’s findings, it may be time for the state to promote marriage and engage in the biblical worldview that promotes having children for the good of the state and continuance of society.
(Rev.) Michael P. Orsi Naples, Fla.
To the Editor:
My son and daughter-in-law decided several years ago not to have children, and they have no regrets. I was a bit sad but quickly got over it.
Who would want to bring children into a world that is filled with terror, corruption, toxic pollution and horrendous politics? A world where only certain lives matter. A world where the wealthiest support a far-right perspective of the world, and feel no obligation or concern for the other 90 percent. A world where children are bombed and shot in schools. A world where the majority of citizens are ignored.
After reading the headlines of yet another insane day in a MAGA country, both my partner and I agreed: We are glad to be old and leaving this planet soon.
Sue Kusch White Salmon, Wash.
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