A new bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate, the Supporting Healthy Moms and Babies Act, aims to make childbirth free for privately insured families by requiring insurance companies to cover all maternity-related costs without co-pays or deductibles. The proposal, motivated in part by concerns over declining birth rates, seeks to reduce financial barriers to parenthood—but experts caution that eliminating childbirth costs alone may not significantly boost fertility rates, pointing instead to broader economic and cultural factors like child care costs, housing, and shifting societal norms. Originally published at Newsweek.

Suzanne Bell is quoted.