If there is one thing that Trump appointees, and most Trump voters, can get behind, it’s that marriage and babies are good, and falling fertility rates (now 1.57 children per American woman vs replacement level of 2.1), single parenthood and abortion are bad.
The administration has been preparing to announce baby boom policies – possibly in partnership with the Heritage Foundation, masterminds of Project 2025 – and those of us with ovaries are braced. Measures to help make reality the Maga vision of an America re-peopled with big joyful broods and happy families may include a Hungary-style payout of $5,000 (around £4,000) to married new parents; IVF subsidies (Trump called himself the ‘father of IVF’ in 2024), a National Medal of Motherhood for married women with more than six children and the reservation of 30 per cent of Fulbright scholarships for married baby-havers.
The grave economic uncertainty caused by Trump’s own actions is a far greater turn-off than any single handout is an inducement
Not on the list, as has been widely noted by progressives, is the mass investment in post-natal and reproductive healthcare for women that ought to command cross-party support.
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