JD Vance stated “automotive seat guidelines” are inflicting Individuals to have fewer children.
The remark originated from a March 2023 U.S. congressional listening to. The comment appeared to reference a preprint analysis paper from 2020 titled, “Automotive Seats as Contraception.” The paper didn’t obtain a peer evaluation.
A video shared on social media in September 2024 claims to point out U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio — former President Donald Trump’s working mate within the 2024 presidential election — saying American dad and mom aren’t having extra kids due to “automotive seat guidelines.”
For instance, on Sept. 20, TikTok person @whattheactualkaren posted (archived) the video exhibiting Vance making the “automotive seat guidelines” comment with the caption, “JD Vance. American Households aren’t having kids due to automotive seat legal guidelines. Severely.”
Numerous social media users throughout platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Threads, TikTok and X also shared the video. Lots of those posts displayed the watermark for @whattheactualkaren’s add of the clip.
The video confirmed Vance saying the next:
American households aren’t having sufficient kids. I feel there’s proof that a few of the issues that we’re doing to oldsters is driving down the variety of kids that American households are having. Specifically, there’s proof that the automotive seat guidelines that we have imposed, which after all I need children to drive in automotive seats, have pushed down the variety of infants born on this nation by over 100,000. In order we take into consideration easy methods to make children secure right here, I feel we should always do it in a approach that is accommodating to American households, and I encourage your group to do this.
It is true that Vance genuinely made this comment throughout a March 23, 2023, listening to held by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in Washington. The listening to’s function centered on “Enhancing Client Protections and Connectivity in Air Transportation.”
Throughout Vance’s time to talk, he shared his ideas concerning the Affiliation of Flight Attendants-CWA union’s proposal of enacting new Federal Aviation Administration mandates requiring kids below the age of two to be restrained in particular seats throughout flights. After that, he stated the phrases showing within the September 2024 video posts.
The Governors Freeway Security Affiliation’s web site hosts a page displaying all states’ legal guidelines of restraining kids in automotive seats whereas driving in motor automobiles. In the meantime, the FAA website printed security details about flying with younger kids, “strongly [urging]” — not mandating — that folks place infants and toddlers below the age of two in “an authorised little one restraint system (CRS) or gadget,” and never of their laps.
As for Vance’s remark referencing start charges within the U.S., The Associated Press reported figures dropped in 2020 to “the bottom level since federal well being officers began monitoring it greater than a century in the past.”
We emailed a spokesperson for Vance’s marketing campaign asking concerning the remark however didn’t obtain a response previous to the publication of this story.
Vance’s Full Remarks and Full Video
The longer video of the committee listening to revealed Vance was having an change with Sara Nelson, the worldwide president of the Related of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO. This transcription begins on the 1:45:08 mark within the full video (emphasis ours):
VANCE: The one factor that I would encourage your group to do is perhaps to suppose out easy methods to… look, I do not suppose that is the suitable rule however in case you guys are going to advocate for this rule, perhaps to suit it in with another adjustments that will make issues simpler on dad and mom as you are advocating for that specific strategy, as a result of, this is the factor. I imply, the distinction, after all, between an car leaving the hospital [with an infant] and [bringing an infant on] an airplane, there are two apparent ones that I might consider, proper? One is that, look, if I take my children from Cincinnati to go to their grandparents in San Diego, that is 5 hours. I imply, attempt to hold a toddler or a child in a automotive seat for 5 hours. That’s torture for everyone, together with the newborn and definitely the passengers across the child.
However the second factor, after all, is that air visitors accidents are fortunately, thank God, a lot much less frequent and fewer widespread than automotive accidents are. And so, what I fear right here is that within the identify of security enhancements, and I do not doubt that there are marginal security enhancements, we’re truly proposing a change that will make issues a lot, rather more depressing for folks for little or no marginal enchancment in security.
And I need to, only one last remark right here after which I will shut up. One factor that I actually fear about, and I feel each Democrats and Republicans ought to fear about, is we’ve some actual demographic issues in our nation. American households aren’t having sufficient kids. I feel there’s proof that a few of the issues that we’re doing to oldsters is driving down the variety of kids that American households are having. Specifically, there’s proof that the automotive seat guidelines that we have imposed, which after all I need children to drive in automotive seats, have pushed down the variety of infants born on this nation by over 100,000. So, as we take into consideration easy methods to make children secure right here, I feel we should always do it in a approach that is accommodating to American households, and I encourage your group to do this.
NELSON: Thanks, I respect that. I simply need to make clear one level, and that’s that the kid would [only] be required to remain within the seat for the crucial phases of flight. So this isn’t retaining infants in a seat for 5 hours.
VANCE: Thank God.
NELSON: [laughing] All proper, thanks.
Attainable Inspiration for Vance’s Quote
Vance’s comment about “American households aren’t having sufficient kids” and “automotive seat guidelines” probably stemmed from a 2020 analysis paper about how dad and mom view automotive seats, contemplating their value and different elements. Jordan Nickerson, an affiliate professor of finance on the College of Washington, and David Solomon, a finance professor at Boston School, authored the paper.
At the very least two customers on social media made a connection between the paper and remark by Vance. Certainly one of them, a person on X, posted, “‘Automotive seats as contraceptive’ rhetoric from JD Vance possible stems from this 2020 finance bro paper.”
The title of the paper’s 55-page PDF file was, “Automotive Seats as Contraception.” The paper confirmed a posted date of Sept. 22, 2020, on the SSRN website. Based on the SSRN FAQ page, the web site’s efforts contain the mission of “an open entry analysis platform used to share early-stage analysis, evolve concepts, measure outcomes and join students world wide.” In spite of everything, the paper said, “This preprint analysis paper has not been peer reviewed.”
Based on the paper, the analysis concerned taking a look at states’ little one automotive seat legal guidelines, U.S. Census Bureau knowledge and automotive crash knowledge. One of many paper’s driving factors was the truth that little one security automotive seats are costly and that greater than two automotive seats or booster seats do not at all times simply match within the again seats of many motor automobiles. The primary web page additionally claimed
Web page 12 of the paper famous the authors weren’t arguing that automotive seat rules have been the first motive for
Whereas we don’t declare that automotive seat legal guidelines are the first driver of the secular development, it’s a helpful sanity examine as as to if the introduction of the legal guidelines appears roughly in line with the declines we observe, which turned outstanding within the mid-2000s. On the face of it, the introduction of the legal guidelines within the Eighties seems considerably at odds with this, occurring throughout a interval of considerably rising start charges.
The authors additionally famous later:
Anecdotally, it’s uncommon to seek out individuals who will brazenly state that automotive seats concretely stopped them having a 3rd little one. However it’s fairly widespread to seek out individuals who cite automotive seats as being a ache and a problem that they needed to cope with, particularly within the context of getting a 3rd little one.
The conclusion of the paper appeared to advocate for “easing” security
Youngster automotive seat legal guidelines scale back fertility by limiting the selection set amongst ladies who, on the margin, wish to have one other little one. Easing such restrictions isn’t solely prone to enhance birthrates, however in contrast to many fertility-increasing insurance policies, doesn’t value the federal government something.
