Of all the crises facing humanity, none is more perilous but receives so little attention that plunging birth rates. As many bright minds realized for decades, the self-imposed infertility in the species threatens the very fabric of civilization.
Simply put, the civilized world is not reproducing itself. Populations of first-world countries would be shrinking drastically if it were not for uncontrolled migration, but that is hardly a solution as it presents a wide range of societal issues.
Alex Berenson is a former New York Times reporter and an accomplished novelist. Last week he made the striking observation that with plunging live births, “nothing less than the future of humanity is at stake.”
#Gravitas | The real scare this halloween seems to be declining birth
rates globally. Reports say, it could grind to a halt by 2050. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping is telling women to cultivate a 'child-bearing culture' to combat this trend.
Here's what @priyankash25 has to say pic.twitter.com/JgL1Gs2JSp— WION (@WIONews) November 1, 2023
He also referenced the troubling impact that many believe the COVID mRNA vaccine had on fertility.
It was six years ago when Canada’s outspoken Dr. Jordan Peterson interviewed feminist Camille Paglia. She admitted that the gender revolution of the 60s and 70s made it “heresy” for women to place raising children ahead of their careers.
To these “revolutionaries,” abortion became a sacrament and motherhood was something to be mocked and avoided.
What most conservatives acknowledge as the truth is the same wisdom that leftists despise. According to the University of Virginia’s Brad Wilcox, a noted family advocate, the route to happiness and fulfillment centers on marriage and parenthood.
Meanwhile, the left and its media cohorts choose to celebrate divorce and not be shackled by family responsibilities.
All of these factors add up to birth rates that are now shockingly low. Unfortunately, demographers now find that the pandemic only added fuel to the fire of childless America.
When the sweeping lockdowns first emerged, so-called “experts” predicted that a baby boom would result. After all, spending all this time at home would theoretically give couples more of a chance to conceive. Reality, however, went in the opposite direction.
The first COVID-19 wave of 2020 saw fertility drop by 17.5 births per month per 100,000 reproductive-age women. The strong decline returned during the second wave in the winter of 2020 before retreating to prepandemic levels of lower birth rates.
Interestingly, Republican states with less social distancing mandates saw higher birth rates than more restrictive Democratic regions.
Overall, U.S. fertility rates have trended downward since 2007, mirroring similar declines in Europe and parts of Asia. Without a strong reversal, the advanced world faces radical changes in the near future, and the very survival of civilization may hang in the balance.
