Do you want kids? And other personal questions amid the declining birthrate

Families have fewer kids these days. It’s not just because of the huge responsibility, or that parenthood is expensive, or the real threat of climate change, or because people are getting married later in life. The decision to have or not have children ultimately boils down to the question of meaning: what gives us a purpose in life?

Is your hard work at your career of greater value than taking a break to raise a baby? Does your individuality and free time mean more to you? Do you think having multiple children is a noble thing to do? Will it make you happy? Have you waited all your life to be a parent?

These are the questions often weighed by people of childbearing age. And, they’ve become heavily politicized. So called pro-family policies like child tax credits have been thrust into the spotlight this election, but they don’t necessarily work. Today we address the nation’s declining fertility rate, why it’s happening, and if we need to do something about it.

Our guests are Catherine Pakaluk, economics professor at Catholic University and author of Hannah’s Children: Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth and Anastasia Berg, assistant professor of philosophy at UC Irvine and co-author of What Are Children For?: On Ambivalence and Choice.