‘We just don’t value children.’ Florida needs to pursue ‘Family First’ policies | Opinion

The family has been understood since the earliest civilizations to be the foundation of a successful culture and society. As goes the health of the family, so goes the health of a nation.

It is not a stretch to say that the American family is sick. The list of ailments is long, from divorce rates and absentee parenting to children born out of wedlock and abortions. But maybe the key inflection point is that the U.S., and more so Florida, are experiencing a sub-replacement birth rate.

The CDC reported in 2019 that the U.S total fertility rate was 1.76, well below the 2.1 needed to maintain the population. The fertility rate is the number of children an adult woman needs to have on average for the total population to remain stable. Florida had the 13th lowest rate at 1.71.

“I think the concern is – and there is a concern – is having a fertility rate that doesn’t allow us in effect to perpetuate our society,” Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, told CNN when the CDC report came out.

Political rhetoric aside, this is as clear an indicator as any that, as a society and culture, we just don’t value children. They are seen as an expense, an inconvenience, and a detriment to careers and pursuing personal desires. Well, that’s all true, and yet children are not only obviously essential, but a true blessing.

This decline in the American family, a necessary pillar for the future of our nation, is why I think Florida needs to lead the way on “Family First” policies.

Europe has long struggled with this decline in the family with total fertility rates around 1.1-1.3, and its leaders are desperate — part of the reason they have allowed such large immigration from foreign countries, which has caused a whole new set of challenges.

But Hungary, with a replacement rate of 1.3, has taken a different route. Rather than importing immigrants who don’t want to be Hungarian and who create cultural clashes, they have adopted a series of policies to promote the traditional family by offering financial relief for the economic stresses on young families. These include generous tax exemptions and family-first stipends and loan programs, including subsidies for items such as minivans and home renovations, a family allowance for grandparents, three years of maternity leave, and interest-free marriage loans of $36,000 for young couples, which are cancelled once the couple has three children.

Poland also instituted aggressive pro-family policies with financial incentives. Both Hungary and Poland have seen a substantial increase in the marriage and birth rates over the past decade that these policies have been in effect. Whether these are the best policies or not — they are certainly expensive — they show that public policy can impact families. This is a serious conversation that Florida and American leaders need to have. Where we are right now is literally unsustainable.

An important first step in this is restoring the value of children, including those who have yet to be born. In this area, Florida lamentably leads the nation in late-term abortions. This is shameful and sends the message that children really don’t matter.

For context, we must reiterate the shocking reality that the United States is one of only seven nations in the world that allow abortion on demand for any reason after 20 weeks, fact-checked as true by the Washington Post — a point when science indisputably tells us that the unborn baby feels excruciating pain. The U.S. is joined in this gruesome club by such brutal regimes as China and North Korea. And Florida is the worst in the U.S. This just cannot stand.

That’s why I’ve introduced HB 351, which prohibits the abortion of an unborn child capable of feeling pain. That such a basic humanitarian bill does not have universal, bi-partisan support is its own embarrassment.

Stopping late term abortions would be a solid first step, but we need to investigate doing considerably more to truly make Families First in Florida.

Rep. Tommy Gregory represents House District 73 covering portions of Sarasota and Manatee counties.

This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 5:00 AM.