The ‘pronatalists’ trying to engineer a baby boom

Front Burner

Simone and Malcolm Collins are pronatalists: they believe many countries are headed toward a catastrophe of shrinking population, and that we need to have more babies to save them. Other supporters of the movement include Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

By choosing embryos with the genetic traits they want, are they practicing eugenics?

Is their push to boost babies in rich countries really different from racist conspiracy theories about immigrants?

Jenny Kleeman is a journalist and broadcaster, as well as the author of books including The Price of Life: In Search of What We're Worth and Who Decides. She recently visited the Collins’ home in Pennsylvania.

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