By MEG KINNARD
The Heritage Foundation think tank is urging the federal government “to save and restore the American family,” kicking off the midterm election year with a call for conservatives to focus on domestic issues.
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Among its recommendations? A “marriage bootcamp,” designed to prepare cohabitating couples for marriage; a “universal day of rest” that would build upon blue laws that limit alcohol sales in some municipalities; and discouragement of online dating, in part because of research showing that “couples who meet online are also less likely to get married in the first place.”
The full plan, published Thursday and first reported by The Washington Post, marks the foundation’s evolution from its small government roots to a pillar of the populist right. During President Donald Trump’s second term, Heritage has demonstrated its impact with Project 2025, which has been used as a blueprint to overhaul U.S. policy.
“The government’s primary role is to clear the weeds and prevent its policies and programs from poisoning the ground,” wrote the new report’s authors, led by Roger Severino, Heritage’s vice president of economic and domestic policy. “Unfortunately, except for radically redefining the institution, marriage is not currently a federal priority.”
Last year, Heritage President Kevin Roberts roiled conservative corners when — as Democrats accused Republicans of tolerating antisemitism in their party — he defended prominent conservative commentator Tucker Carlson for his friendly podcast interview with far-right activist Nick Fuentes, known for his antisemitic views. The comments sparked outrage and the resignations of Heritage board members, staffers and executives.
An expanded view of government’s role in lives of Americans
The ultimate guidance in the new Heritage report is that U.S. policy “encourage and protect the formation of families, not mere fertility,” recommending against any policies “that undermine marriage and the formation of families, or reward or encourage needless delay in marriage and out-of-wedlock births.”
Tax codes, Heritage writes, “should not penalize marriage and encourage single parenthood,” and education policy “should not coax young Americans to delay marriage while pursuing needless credentials.”
The report also calls on Trump to issue “a series of executive orders requiring every grant, contract, policy, regulation, research project, and enforcement action involving the federal government to do the following: Explicitly measure how it helps or harms marriage and family, block actions that discriminate against family formation, and give preference to actions that support American families.”
Eric Rosswood, author of “Journey to Parenthood: The Ultimate Guide for Same-Sex Couples,” said he concurs with some of Heritage’s arguments, like the threats posed by food insecurity and the lack of affordable childcare. But he disagreed with the report’s recommendation that subsidies go toward married families, or that children are best-suited to being raised by their biological parents.
“I think what’s due to them is a family that’s going to provide for the children and take care of the children, make sure they have a roof over their head that they have meals, they’re getting to school, parents that support their hobbies and motivate them,” said Rosswood, who is raising two children with his husband.
“I don’t think that those are gender-based. I don’t think that that’s tied to biological genetics. I think that’s what a parent does, regardless of who they are.”
Trump has taken cues from Heritage in the past
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump distanced himself from Project 2025 — a nearly 900-page guidebook written by many conservatives who worked in or with Trump’s first administration. Still, some of its tenets have become hallmarks of his second term thus far, including the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency and the dissolution of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
During the 2024 race, it came to light that JD Vance — who by then was Trump’s running mate — had praised Roberts’ vision in the forward of the Heritage chief’s forthcoming book, “Dawn’s Early Light,” calling Heritage “the most influential engine of ideas for Republicans from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump.”
Now-Vice President Vance, who at times references his personal struggles when describing policies he says would help make parenting easier, has long been clear about making family formation a policy priority, suggesting ideas such as allowing parents to vote on behalf of their children or giving low-interest loans to married couples with children.
What the Heritage report says about IVF
Acknowledging that in vitro fertilization — a medical procedure that helps people facing infertility build their families — has its benefits, the report argues against the practice outside of marriage.
“A babies-at-all-costs mentality would come at too great a cost, and not just financially, but morally and spiritually” and “intentionally denies a right due to every child conceived — to be born and grow in relationship with his or her mother and father bound in marriage,” Heritage writes.
In the first month of his second term, Trump signed an executive order aiming to reduce the costs of IVF, requesting a list of policy recommendations on protecting IVF access and “aggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment.” In October, Trump followed that up with new federal guidance he said would allow companies to offer fertility benefits separate from major medical insurance plans. Costs for a common fertility drug would also come down through a deal struck with drugmaker EMD Serono.
IVF became a talking point during the 2024 presidential campaign when Alabama agreed to protect in vitro fertilization providers from legal liability a couple of weeks after the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law.
Alongside the drug price-related negotiation, Heritage commended Trump for promising “to address the ‘root causes’ of infertility.” The White House did not immediately comment Thursday on the report, or if anyone in the administration had collaborated on it.
Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP
