Involuntary childlessness in the U.S. and Israel: Pronatalism, gender, and sexual identity

Abstract

Objective: This study examined experiences of involuntary childlessness as a function of sexual identity and gender in the United States (U.S.) and Israel. Background: Sexual minority individuals may experience more involuntary childlessness than heterosexual people, and, to our knowledge, no studies have compared involuntary childlessness between the U.S., which is socially, but not politically pronatal, and Israel, which is both socially and politically pronatal. Method: Two online surveys were distributed, one per country. The combined dataset was 1739 people (470 heterosexual men, 521 heterosexual women, 421 sexual minority men, and 327 sexual minority women). Differences in pronatalism, experiences of involuntary childlessness, and stress related to involuntary childlessness were assessed as a function of gender, sexual identity, and country. Results: Participants in the U.S. reported higher levels of pronatalism, more frequent involuntary childlessness, and greater stress from these experiences than did Israeli participants. In Israel, 68% of sexual minority people reported having experienced involuntary childlessness compared to 32% of heterosexual people. In the U.S., around 50% of people reported involuntary childlessness regardless of group. However, sexual minority individuals reported more frequent experiences of and stress from these experiences than did heterosexual people in both countries. Conclusion: A concerning proportion of people in the U.S. and sexual minority adults in Israel experience involuntary childlessness. Overall, there are implications for the potential protective factor of effective fertility policies, such as in Israel, for those facing involuntary childlessness.