Republicans applauded the Supreme Courts recent decision to end the federal right to abortion, a change that will likely lead to more births and parental hardship. But that doesnt mean the party is pushing for new policies to actually help these parents.

In recent years, Democrats have increasingly supported things like direct cash assistance or paid family leave. The Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last month presaged by a leak in May hasnt brought more Republicans on board.

Im not sure government can fix that, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said this week when asked if the federal government had a bigger role to play in helping parents in a post-Roe world.

Id be open to supporting families and family formation, said Cornyn, a member of the Senate GOP leadership. But thats separate and apart from the abortion questions as far as Im concerned.

The Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization undid the courts nearly five-decade-old opinion that guaranteed abortion rights, creating a patchwork of abortion access across the country. Millions of Americans in more than a dozen states are no longer able to obtain an abortion, and Republican lawmakers in some states are threatening to prohibit interstate travel to terminate a pregnancy.

Experts say the reversal of Roe will have a disproportionate impact on lower-income households and people of color. It could lead to a dramatic increase in the number of births. One health care consulting firm estimated there will be an additional 150,000 live births in the U.S. each year. There were 3.6 million U.S. births in 2021.

But many Republicans contend that the U.S. does enough to support families. They also bristle at the notion that their opposition to more federal assistance means they dont support children.

[Democrats] ignore the trillion dollars in benefits that are already sitting out there and whats already being done and say unless you do another billion dollars more you really dont love children. Its absurd, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) told HuffPost.

Lankford said he favors stronger child support enforcement against deadbeat dads and making adoption easier.