Eugenics Controversy Looms Over Natal Conference at UT’s AT&T Center

Some Natal Conference speakers promote the idea of using IVF to select for embryos best suited to different career paths (image via Getty Images)

A conference promoting pro-natalism – a belief in maximizing births in response to declining birth rates which they believe threaten civilization – will take place later this month at the University of Texas at Austin’s AT&T Hotel and Conference Center. Speakers include advocates for genetic selection and pseudoscience attempting to legitimize racism.

The Natal Conference, set for March 28-29, markets itself as a premier gathering of scholars, policymakers, and tech entrepreneurs discussing solutions to declining birth rates. But its mission is complicated by a general acceptance of eugenics – the belief in genetic superiority that drove the Holocaust. In 2023, conference organizer Kevin Dolan said on a podcast: “I think that the pro-natalist and the eugenic positions are very much not in opposition; they’re very much aligned.”

The natalist movement seems to have found footing in Austin, and Elon Musk has been made a sort of figurehead to its advocates. A tweet from Elon Musk is prominently displayed on the conference home page. The billionaire wrote, “If birth rates continue to plummet, human civilization will end” as a caption to a video of a speech during the 2023 conference. While Musk is not a listed speaker, his views on reproduction and his growing number of children have made him a hero in the pro-natalist sphere.

A Brief History of the Natal Conference

The Natal Conference debuted in December 2023 in Austin, drawing a mix of tech entrepreneurs, conservative think tank members, and self-described futurists discussing how to reverse falling birth rates. (A few weeks before the conference, the Chronicle published a deep-dive into the movement, called “The Eugenic Circus Comes to Town.”) Beyond increasing birth rates, the group implies that political beliefs are genetic, specifically calling for conservatives to outnumber liberals by procreating more. “We can use their visceral hatred of big families to our advantage,” speaker Peachy Keenan said at the 2023 conference. “The other side is not reproducing; the anti-natalists are sterilizing themselves.” That first conference – though smaller in scale – set the foundation for the movement, bringing together a network of wealthy investors and ideological proponents who see low fertility as a global crisis.

Since then, the conference has expanded in size and influence, drawing more high-profile speakers and growing support from wealthy backers in the tech industry. However, it has also faced mounting criticism for platforming figures associated with eugenics, race science, and right-wing nationalism.

Pro-natalism, the core ideology behind the conference, is the belief that societies should encourage higher birth rates through cultural shifts and policy changes – but the policies natalists wish to promote are unclear. Some members of the movement criticize safety net programs aimed at supporting parenthood, for example. But generally, advocates argue that population decline threatens economic stability and social cohesion, pointing to low fertility rates in countries like Japan, South Korea, and much of Europe. However, critics warn that pro-natalist rhetoric often veers into nationalist and exclusionary territory, raising concerns about whose births are being prioritized.

The upcoming event in Austin marks a significant expansion, with a larger venue, higher ticket prices and more exclusive access. The Natal Conference is organized by Kevin Dolan, a financier and prominent voice in far-right online communities. In a 2021 incident, Dolan was dismissed from his position as a data scientist after being identified as the individual behind the Twitter handle @extradeadjcb, known for posting content with racist and anti-immigrant sentiments. For instance, in a 2019 tweet, he told a commenter with claimed Apache ancestry that he’s “lucky we let you live in Arizona,” because the Apaches “got royally butt-raped by whitey lol.”

The movement implies that political beliefs are genetic, specifically calling for conservatives to outnumber liberals by procreating more (art by Zeke Barbaro / Getty Images)

Controversial Speakers

The Natal Conference has been criticized for featuring speakers with histories of advocating for genetic selection and race science. Among them:

• Malcolm and Simone Collins: Organizers of the event and founders of Pronatalist.org, the Collinses have publicly discussed the use of genetic technology to “preserve cultural values” through selective reproduction. They have also supported selecting embryos based on genetics they believe would suit the child to a specific profession.

• Jonathan Anomaly: A philosopher known for his work on “liberal eugenics,” Anomaly has argued in favor of genetic selection to “improve” future generations.

• Jordan Lasker (aka Crémieux): A speaker with known ties to race science, Lasker has written extensively on population genetics in ways that scholars argue align with white nationalist ideology.

• Terry Schilling: President of the American Principles Project, a conservative group that has pushed for traditional family structures and opposed LGBTQ+ rights.

• Dr. Steve Turley: A right-wing commentator known for his discussions on demographic shifts and the “decline of the West.”

What is UT’s Role?

Many researchers have dedicated their careers to demography, studying birth rates and family structures and publishing their work in peer-reviewed journals. But the conference does not feature these bona fide experts. So is there a connection to the University of Texas?

The AT&T Hotel and Conference Center, located on UT’s Austin campus, is technically a university-owned venue, though it operates as a self-funded entity. In past instances, the university has allowed private events at the venue that are not officially sponsored by UT.

As of now, UT has not issued a public statement regarding the event. After this story's publication, a spokesperson told the Chronicle: "As part of a public university, the AT&T Hotel & Conference Center is bound by law to schedule events without discrimination of viewpoint consistent with the First Amendment."

Editor's Note Thursday, March 20, 10:47am: This story has been updated to include a statement from a University of Texas spokesperson, sent to the Chronicle after this story’s publication in print.