An inherent tension exists between the goals of pronatalism and the actual policies through which law makers have often attempted to raise birth rates. Proponents of pronatalism often prefer to raise births only to specific racial/ethnic or national groups; yet in modern democracies, it is unacceptable for social policies to explicitly discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin. Social benefits, such as family allowances, must be accessible to all citizens. The recent extension of certain previously denied family benefits to minority populations in France and Israel illustrates this tension and points to a future direction in which any pronatalist intent behind family policy will likely be downplayed in favour of a social welfare imperative
