Patriarchy and pregnancy

After having just finished writing a feminist theory in which I argue for the positive political ramifications for a woman to reject the patriarchal institution of motherhood and not be a mother, based on the writings of Adrienne Rich in her book Of Woman Born, I read this article in Foreign Policy magainze. It posits a causal link between patriarchy (which it claims comes and goes in cycles) and declining birth rates in the Western World. The claim is that it is the enlightened liberals who are not procreating and so the conservatives are bearing up to the challenge of replicating the world's population.