Health Care — America’s childless trend

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View Online Health Care Health Care The Big Story  America's childless trend More and more Americans are not having children, with this trend showing no signs of stopping. And while many say it's a deliberate choice, experts say outside circumstances are a bigger reason. © AP Since 2002, the percentage of women aged 15 to 44 who don't have children grew from 40 percent to 45 percent between 2017 and 2019.    A recent Pew Research Center survey shows that 47 percent of adults under 50 without children say they are unlikely to ever have them — a 10-percentage point increase from 2018.       Factors expected to perpetuate this pattern include choosing not to have children, infertility and finances. About 57 percent of younger adults in the Pew survey said a major reason they will likely never have kids is that they "just don't want to," compared to about 31 percent of childless adults over 50.       Alison Gemmill, assistant professor in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told The Hill that childlessness is a result of circumstances over choices for most U.S. adults.    "I think life happens and there are a lot of competing things and there's a lot of constraints, and that's how people end up childless," said Gemmill.      Factors that facilitate having children — finding a partner, affording the cost childbirth and the cost of raising a child — have all become more difficult to achieve in recent years.    The U.S., however, still has a smaller percentage of people without children when compared to other wealthy countries such as Canada, whose childlessness rate is about 80 percent higher, according to the Human Fertility Database.  Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter, we're Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads  How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: Texas women file federal complaint against hospitals for delayed ectopic pregnancy care Two women filed federal complaints against Texas hospitals they allege refused to terminate their ectopic pregnancies, which led to both women losing a fallopian tube, compromising their future fertility. Abortion is banned in Texas, but terminating an ectopic pregnancy, where a fertilized egg implants in a fallopian tube instead of the uterus, is explicitly allowed under state law. An ectopic pregnancy is never a viable …  Full Story Cancer deaths among men expected to rise 94 percent worldwide by 2050: Study Cancer cases and deaths among men are projected to skyrocket by 2050, according to a new study, especially for those aged 65 and older.  The research, published in the journal Cancer, showed the current sharp disparity in cancer mortality and cases among men is likely to increase without interventions.  Between 2022 and 2050, cancer cases among men are projected to increase 84 percent from 10.3 million to 19 …  Full Story New Mexico governor invites Texas doctors to practice in her state following restrictive abortion law Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced last Sunday an initiative to invite Texas doctors to consider relocating to her neighboring state of New Mexico, in response to Texas’s "draconian abortion ban." The governor launched a direct appeal to Texas health care providers, running a full-page ad in five major Texas newspapers last Sunday. The ads contained an "open letter" to "Texas healthcare providers" telling them that …  Full Story In Other News  Branch out with a different read: How to get relief from unexpectedly high medical bills NEW YORK (AP) — Unexpectedly high medical bills are common in the United States, but there are ways to get relief. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one in five Americans are affected by outstanding medical debt, for a total cost of $88 billion. In a 2022 study, the bureau found that roughly 20% of U.S. households … Full Story Around the Nation  Local and state headlines on health care: This is now California's worst summer COVID wave in years. Here's why (Los Angeles Times)  Democrats take on Rick Scott for voting against reducing Medicare drug prices (Florida Phoenix)  Steward again postpones bankruptcy sales hearing for six Massachusetts hospitals (Boston Globe)  What We're Reading  Health news we've flagged from other outlets: Harris says Trump will repeal Obamacare. Trump now claims he'll make it 'better.' (The New York Times)  What's in a drink? U.S. regulators consider new alcohol label, but health advocates want even more (Stat)  Why a growing mpox outbreak has the world worried again (The Washington Post)  What Others are Reading  Most read stories on The Hill right now: How to tune into the Trump, Elon Musk interview Tech billionaire Elon Musk will interview former President Trump on Monday night on Musk’s social platform X, marking the former president’s … Read more Harris builds momentum against Trump in national, swing-state polls Vice President Harris has taken the lead over former President Trump in the national polling average kept by Decision Desk HQ/The Hill, underscoring … Read more   You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!  Check out The Hill's Health Care page for the latest coverage. Like this newsletter? 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