It’s called “Natural Decrease” – the term used to describe what happens when more people die than are born.
Since European settlers arrived in Jamestown in 1610, the population of North America has seen a meteoric climb. From the 300 or so people who first settled in Virginia, the United States Census Bureau currently projects our population at just over 341 million people.
But all is not well when it comes to fertility and mortality across the country.
Between 2010 and 2019, there were just four states (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and West Virginia) that regularly recorded more deaths than births – or experienced a “natural decrease.”
What about from 2020 to 2022? Twenty-five states.
A new report from the Congressional Budget Office is projecting that trend will worsen in the coming years to such an extent that by 2033, deaths will exceed births across the entire nation.
I’ve previously warned about the developing “population bust” – the exact opposite of what so many radicals have been claiming. For more than a half-century, especially, these individuals have been discouraging having children, claiming that they put too much pressure on our limited resources.
It’s a lie.
People of faith have long championed the value of children because more children will benefit everyone. It’s the declining birthrate that poses an existential threat, and it’s an issue we must address – or ignore at our peril.
The world is not going to run out of any of its critical natural resources because of husbands and wives having children. But our ability to procure all those resources – and develop and imagine new technologies and energy – will be hampered if fewer and fewer children are welcomed into the world.
Progressives often paint the picture of a “utopian” world where adults are unburdened and childfree – but once more, the exact opposite is true.
Case in point: abortion proponents and their corresponding disdain for the value of children are putting not only innocent children in a precarious spot – but also the future sustainability of schools, which need children and a strong tax base to thrive.
Expanded government healthcare is another popular priority of progressives. They’ve been extremely successful in lobbying the cause. Yet governments need taxpayers to pay for anything. In some parts of the country, pregnant women are unable to receive necessary services because of so-called “maternity deserts” – areas that lack both prenatal and birthing resources. In fact, 2.2. million women of childbearing age and upwards of 150,000 babies are actually impacted.
How is this possible in America? Hospitals are shutting down maternity facilities due to the declining birthrate. It’s financially unsustainable to maintain specialty care centers for so few people – or no people at all. The few pregnant women in those areas have no choice but to travel great distances for once-routine services. But it’s not just a matter of convenience. Delay in care can lead to disaster.
The very best thing Christians can do for the long-term sustainability and health of our country is to get married and have lots of children.
