U.S. Population Falls to Dangerous Levels Below Replacement Rate

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 10, 2013   |   10:39AM   |   Washington, DC

The fertility rate in the United States fell again to another record low in 2012, thanks in part to the recession that is making it so couples are more reticent to consider having children to adding to their family.

While abortion contributes to destroy more than one million unborn children on an annual basis, new figures from the CDC show the American population is at dangerously low levels — so low that the U.S. birth rate is below the replacement rate needed to sustain the population. That would put the United States in league with nations like Japan, Russia and many European countries that are experiencing worker shortages because of population decline and abortion.

From the article:

The U.S. fertility rate fell to another record low in 2012, with 63.0 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 years old, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s down slightly from the previous low of 63.2 in 2011.

It marked the fifth year in a row the U.S. birth rate has declined, and the lowest rate on record since the government started tracking the fertility rate in 1909. In 2007, the rate was 69.3.

Falling birth rates can be considered a challenge to future economic growth and the labor pool.

“If there are fewer younger people in the United States, there may be a shortage of young workers to enter the labor force in 18 to 20 years,” said University of New Hampshire demographer Kenneth Johnson. “A downturn in the birth rate affects the whole economy.”

It takes 2.1 children per woman for a given generation to replace itself, and U.S. births have been below replacement level since 2007.

As of last year, a separate CDC analysis shows an American woman will give birth to an average of 1.88 children over her lifetime, also a record low.

Anna Higgins of the Family Research Council says population decline is dangerous and part of an anti-child view that is similar to that seen in China with its one-child policy.

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“The idea that a decline in population will result in prosperity for a nation dangerous. Such policies are detrimental to the economic interests of any nation. In China, the disastrous economic effects of the brutal one-child policy are causing government officials to contemplate changing the law to allow two children per family,” she said.

Higgins continued: “The massive ripple effects of the Chinese one-child policy should be a lesson to other nations. Discouraging child-bearing leads to a decline in the workforce, and eventually creates a workforce that is far too small to carry the financial burden of those who are no longer able to work.”

“The cornerstone of every society is the traditional family unit. The economic backlash taking place in China can be prevented simply by adhering to Biblical principles encouraging strong families. Children are a blessing to a people. In order to strengthen our society and our economy, we should remove obstacles in the path of married couples who wish to have children and instead do more to support and encourage those who are raising children,” she concluded.