What's the difference between the protesters outside the Republican convention and the delegates inside? There are many, of course, but one will ultimately skew American politics and the culture wars in the Republicans' favor, regardless of who has God or reason on her side. It's the divide between who is having children and who isn't.
Over the past decade, fertility rates among all major American ethnic groups have either remained low or fallen dramatically. Between 1990 and 2002 fertility declined 14 percent among Mexican Americans and 24 percent among Puerto Ricans. African Americans, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, now have a lower average fertility rate than whites, and they are no longer producing enough children to replace their population. But one big difference in fertility rates remains: Conservative, religiously minded Americans are putting far more of their genes into the future than their liberal, secular counterparts. [...]
| Continue Phillip Longman's Washington Post opinion essay "From Here to Maternity"
Also: The National Center for Health Statistics' "Updated Pregnancy Estimates from CDC Now Available" with a link to "Estimated Pregnancy Rates for the United States, 1990-2000: An Update" in PDF format (710 MB)
posted in articles on September 2, 2004 12:19 AM | t (0)
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