The GOP’s Resurgence Of Pro-Natalism Looks A Lot Like The Past

President Donald Trump is reportedly entertaining policy proposals to incentivize American women to have more children. But the proposals don’t include basic and undeniably effective ideas like subsidized child care or paid parental leave. Instead, the Trump administration appears to be considering a $5,000 cash “baby bonus” and a “National Medal of Motherhood” for any woman who has six or more children. 

The policy proposals are part of a larger push from conservative Republicans to boost the United States’ declining birth rates by persuading families to have more kids. The proposals fall squarely into what’s known as the pro-natalist movement — an ideology created to raise declining population rates that has historically been co-opted by far-right misogynist groups, including fascist and authoritarian regimes.  

The contemporary pro-natalist movement has found a leader in Trump, who has aligned himself with some of the ideology’s most extreme advocates, including far-right influencer Jack Posobiec and billionaire Elon Musk. Musk, who was never far from Trump’s side at the start of his second term, has fathered 14 children and routinely voices concerns about “population collapse”...