Fact Check: Did Robert F Kennedy Jr say 'infertility is genetic'?

WASHINGTON, DC: US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has repeatedly warned about what he describes as a growing fertility crisis in the United States.

Since taking office in 2025, Kennedy has argued that declining fertility and sperm counts are signs of worsening public health, making the issue a central part of his "Make America Healthy Again" agenda. Social media users are sharing a claim that RFK Jr stated infertility is hereditary, suggesting that children of infertile parents would also be infertile.

Claim: Robert F Kennedy Jr said, 'Infertility is genetic'

In mid-July 2026, a viral TikTok video claimed that Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said, "Infertility is genetic. If your parents can't have kids, neither can you." 

The clip presented the statement as a direct quote from Kennedy while criticizing his recent comments on fertility and reproductive health.

The creator mocked Kennedy, referencing his past controversies and alleging that he had remarked during his ongoing campaign to highlight what he has described as a growing fertility crisis in the United States.

The video ended by asserting that the quote was real and ridiculing Kennedy's recent focus on male fertility and declining sperm counts, leading many viewers to question whether he had actually made the statement.

Fact Check: RFK Jr did not say 'infertility is genetic' while raising concerns about fertility rates

The claim is false. No evidence shows that Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr ever said, "Infertility is genetic. If your parents can't have kids, neither can you." The quote circulated online years before Kennedy became health secretary in 2025, indicating that social media users falsely attributed it to him.

No authentic video, interview, speech, or credible news report in which Kennedy remarked. Instead, archived posts show the quote was already circulating online well before it became associated with him.

One of the earliest examples we found appeared in an Aug. 14, 2022, post on X that read, "Infertility is genetic; if your parents couldn't have kids, you also won't." Other users, including an account that identified itself as a parody, reposted the joke days later.

The statement predates social media. A similar version appears in Donald E. Simanek's 2002 humor book, 'Science Askew: A Lighthearted Look at the Scientific World.' An even earlier variation appears in Dan Miller and Jeanne Zornes' 1997 humor collection, 'Living, Laughing, and Loving Life.'

Although Kennedy did not make the viral statement, he has repeatedly voiced concerns about declining fertility rates. During a White House event in May 2026, he called falling sperm counts and fertility rates an "existential crisis."