Why are American women ‘underbabied’?

Last month, Dr Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, called American women “underbabied” in response to new data that showed the U.S. at its lowest fertility rate ever: just under 1.6 births per woman, below population-replacement levels.

He joined a storm of politically diverse pundits who have offered their own explanations for women’s reluctance to have more children. These include women’s education and employment and consequent “woke” values; the widespread availability of contraception and abortion; exaggerated faith in egg freezing and IVF as solutions; fertility-damaging environmental exposures and poor health; anxiety about the climate, economic, political, and social unraveling; and even social isolation fueled by smartphones.

Low birth rates are indeed worrisome. They foretell labor and care shortages, and reveal a society without hope for the future. While the factors listed may contribute to the decline in birthrates, there are also glaringly obvious structural reasons that are unique to the U.S. If we want to make a dent in the problem, it is imperative that we reframe our policy analysis to focus on these core drivers.

To start, Americans live in the only highly developed country that does not guarantee even minimal paid leave for employed new parents or to take care of an ill child. Although 13 states plus the District of Columbia have passed bills to mandate paid family and medical leave insurance programs, most have not done so, leaving about 73 million workers without such a resource. However, even in states that mandate paid leave, the benefits offered are far lower than salaries, so........

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