A decades-long decline in the fertility rate that hit new lows in 2025 is sparking concerns among health experts of a larger fertility crisis that could impact the economy and national security.
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The Daily Caller reports that the general fertility rate was 53.1 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 in 2025, down from 53.8 in 2024, according to from the National Center for Health Statistics.
US fertility rates just hit another record low
In 2025, the US general fertility rate fell to 53.1 – the lowest level ever recorded
Japan, South Korea, and Germany have already been shrinking for years. Japan has been shrinking for years, South Korea’s population has already… pic.twitter.com/WfZQXPTyEx
— X Freeze (@XFreeze) May 1, 2026
The warnings of a growing crisis are based in concerns that no economy grows without people, pension systems cannot survive without younger workers, and cultures with or without families having children.
Heritage Foundation Senior Policy Analyst Emma Waters explained that while many factors may be contributing to the declining birth rate, three reasons that stand out include, social media and smartphones, the role of abortion and birth control, and a drop in marriage rates.
Waters explained that, “Since the introduction of the iPhone, [every] country has seen a marked decline in births that doesn’t look like it is reversing any time soon, including the U.S. . . . we are seeing more men and women replace meaningful time with others with scrolling, screen addictions, or a sense that there is too much to be done.”
Regarding abortion and birth control, Waters added, “While we can have a meaningful conversation about the morality of each separately, the statistics don’t lie: The last year that the birth rate was above replacement was 1972, and since the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade erroneously created a constitutional right to abortion in 1973, the birth rate has never recovered.”
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Waters also described the drop in marriage rates as one of the “primary drivers of declining birth rates” with the New York Times reporting that the marriage rate hit a 140-year low in 2019.
That observation is backed by 2025 estimates from the Census Bureau showing less than half of American households were married couples.
Possible solutions to the declining fertility rate include prioritizing infertility treatment and early diagnosis of reproductive health conditions such as endometriosis and male-factor infertility, according to Waters.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently described the nation’s declining birth rate as an “existential crisis” which poses a “threat” to the economy and national security.
.@SecKennedy outlines America’s fertility crisis:
“We now have a fertility rate officially of 1.57, and that’s down from 1920…it was at 3.26.”
“It’s way below the replacement rate which is 2.1.”
“It is actually approaching the rates they have in China and Japan.” pic.twitter.com/JP3vN6x7kI
— HHS Rapid Response (@HHSResponse) May 11, 2026
HHS has also launched a new online resource aiming to offer “guidance and information to support the health and well-being of mothers and their families.”
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