Voters without children shall be under the microscope within the 2024 election cycle.
That's what Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said “childless cat ladies” and older adults without children are “sociopaths” who “have no direct interest in this country.”
So it was notable that when pop star Taylor Swift endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, she didn't just voice her support and leave it at that. She also called herself “childless cat lady.”
Politicians and others often use the word “childless” as an umbrella term for individuals who don’t have children. But how social scientist WHO Study people without childrenWe know this doesn't capture some essential nuances.
Using extensive demographic data, we found that there are lots of varieties of non-parents – and every has their very own political priorities.
The area of non-parents
Just about 3% of Americans are truly childlessor what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls “involuntary childless.” Most Americans who don’t have children usually are not childless. Those are some other type of non-parent. Social scientists often distinguish several varieties of non-parents:
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Childless people They want children but are unable to have them as a consequence of circumstances equivalent to infertility.
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No parents yet are individuals who don’t yet have children but plan to in the longer term. They are likely to be younger.
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Indecisive individuals usually are not sure whether or not they wish to have children.
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Childfree people have decided that they are not looking for children now or in the longer term.
These distinctions are essential. When non-parents are combined right into a single group, they seem demographically and politically similar much like everyone else.
But each variety of non-parent is affected in another way by political issues. And some problems are particularly consequential for people without children.
The Impact of Dobbs
Take abortion rights. The US Supreme Court 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson ended a constitutional right to abortion. The ruling limited access to reproductive health care in several states and created uncertainty in others.
Some politicians have expressed concerns about this Consequences of the Dobbs decision. They identified that some unparented parents may not have access to reproductive care if that is so Complications occur while pregnant. They have also sounded the alarm that Dobbs will result in access restrictions In vitro fertilization for childless couples.
However, these concerns are only relevant for individuals who wish to have children. The importance of reproductive rights for childless individuals who are not looking for to have children is usually little discussed amongst politicians and experts.
The share of Michigan adults who discover as childless has increased 21% ahead of Dobbs to almost 26% immediately afterwards. This increase got here at a time when there was considerable confusion in Michigan about access to abortion due to the state's laws unclear and is being challenged in court.
This has also been the case since Dobbs a dramatic increase in vasectomies And Tubal ligatures nationwide. Part of this increase is as a consequence of people without children Turning to surgery to avoid children.
Childless individuals are also neglected in other areas, equivalent to tax policy and the workplace.
People without children also pay federal income taxes along with their parents. But each Republican and Democratic presidential platforms have placed great emphasis on it Expansion of the tax credit for kidswhich directly only advantages individuals who have or may have children. People without children work side by side with their parents. But parental status isn’t a protected category, which could also be why childless people are likely to be You work longer hours and have less time to take day without work.
Will a brand new block be created?
Still, childless individuals are primed to play a crucial role in American politics for several reasons.
Firstly, there are plenty of them.
How many Americans are childless is determined by the way you ask them. Data from nationwide personal interviews suggest that about 10% of Americans are childless. But data from anonymous surveys in Michigan and nationwide Peg it closer to twenty% to 25%. If that's the case, that might mean 50 to 60 million Americans are childless.
Second, their numbers are growing. A row from Studies suggest that each 12 months more Americans report that they simply never wish to have children.
Third, politicians' derogatory comments about “childless” people have attracted the eye of childless people. And they’re starting to prepare. Take Shannon Coulter, the influential activist behind the nonprofit group Grab your walletbrings them together through bipartisanship Alliance of Child-Free Voters.
It remains to be too early to know whether childless people will be considered a definite voting bloc. But in our research, we found that there are childless people within the swing state of Michigan lean liberal. While there are similar numbers of liberal and conservative parents within the state, the variety of childless individuals who discover as liberal outnumbers conservatives by a ratio of two to 1.
Given their size, growth, organization and liberal leanings, it might be time for American politicians to think more fastidiously about how childless people slot in.
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