In This Issue:
- Deepening Depopulation
- One-Child Trend Accelerates in UK
- Taiwan Births Hit New Lows
- What’s Lost with Fewer Births
- Communist China
- China Struggles to Raise Fertility
- New Law Targets Religious Activity
- UN Misdeeds
- Showdown Over UN Abortion Push
- Science Gone Mad
- Designer Baby Loophole Emerges in UK
- Pro-Life Around the World
- Northern Ireland Abortions Hit Record
- Faroe Islands legalize abortion
- German Bishops Embrace Gender Ideology
- Pro-Life on the Home Front
- 1 in 4 Face Post-Abortion Trauma
- Texas Law Hits Abortion Traffickers
- Abortion Pill Review Delayed
- Good News
- 23-Week Baby Beats Odds
Deepening Depopulation
One-Child Trend Accelerates in UK: A new BBC report highlights the growing “fertility gap” in the UK, where women consistently want more children than they ultimately have, “for every three kids wanted… only two are born.” England and Wales recorded a fertility rate of 1.41 last year, the lowest on record. One-child families now make up 44% of all families with dependent children. Rising living costs and childcare expenses—averaging £12,425 (over $16,000) a year for a child under two—are pushing many parents toward smaller families and delaying children until careers or education are secure. The UK’s declining birth rate reflects what the UN calls a “global fertility slump,” driven partly by financial pressures.
“The UN claims that people in the UK and around the world aren’t ‘turning their backs on parenthood,’” says Mr. Mother. “It insists rather that they are being ‘denied the freedom to start families due to skyrocketing living costs, persistent gender inequality and deepening uncertainty about the future.’ But both the UK and the UN advocate policies, such as banning fossil fuels and promoting ‘green’ energy, that directly cause inflation and lower living standards. Moreover, the imposition of gender ideology—with its pornographic sex education, rabid promotion of contraception and abortion—will not raise the birth rate but will lower it. In other words, the UN is simply using the issue of falling birth rates to promote its own agenda, which will only drive the birth rate down farther and faster. These people have no shame.”
Taiwan Births Hit New Lows: Taiwan’s demographic decline deepened in November, marking the 23rd consecutive month of population loss and yet another record-low birth tally of just 7,946 babies—down 4,611 from last year. From January to November, only 98,785 births were recorded, making it unlikely Taiwan will surpass last year’s total. Deaths nearly doubled births, producing a natural decrease of 6,825. Taiwan is now on the brink of becoming a super-aged society, with nearly 20% of residents aged 65 and over.
What’s Lost with Fewer Births: A new Wall Street Journal column warns that collapsing birthrates carry a deeper human cost than shrinking workforces or strained pensions; they erode the very fabric of family life. Writer Bethany Mandel describes visiting Greece with her six children, where locals told her large families used to be normal, reflecting the nation’s demographic freefall. She argues that America faces the same crisis: fewer siblings, cousins, and extended families, leaving homes—and the nation—feeling “lonely.” Reviving hope, she writes, requires restoring the belief that family is worth the sacrifice and joy of a full table.
Communist China
China Struggles to Raise Fertility: A new RAND Corporation report finds China is struggling to reverse its historic birth rate collapse, with fertility hovering near 1.0—among the lowest in the world—and deaths outnumbering births for the third straight year. Since ending the One-Child Policy in 2016, adopting a Two-Child and later a Three-Child policies, researchers say pro-natal efforts remain fragmented, benefiting wealthy cities while excluding migrant families. China’s fertility decline reflects unmet fertility intentions and not a lack of desire for children. China’s current policies fail to address the financial and social barriers that families face.
“China has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, with the total fertility rate falling to less than one child over her reproductive lifetime,” says Mr. Mosher. “The Chinese Communist Party has created the perfect demographic storm: An aging population combined with an economy in which it is difficult for people to marry and have children. To make matters worse, it continues to suppress Catholics and Christians—the very segments of the population who would for religious reasons be open to having more children.”
New Law Targets Religious Activity: China will begin enforcing a revised Law of Public Order Offenses on January 1st, further tightening restrictions on religious activity. The law bans organizing or inciting “superstitious, sect, secret-society, or illegal religious activities,” but experts warn the term “illegal religious activity” is ill-defined. This ambiguity could allow authorities to target Christians and other faith groups. Violations carry 5–10 days of detention or fines up to 1,000 yuan (about $141), with harsher penalties for “serious” cases. The measure reflects a broader trend toward tightening control over worship, online ministry, and teaching children the faith.
UN Misdeeds
Showdown Over UN Abortion Push: A major pro-life showdown is unfolding at the United Nations as member states prepare to vote on a key humanitarian resolution that has long been used to insert abortion and gender-ideology language into UN operations. European nations and UN agencies interpret the text as endorsing abortion as a “humanitarian right,” pressuring nations—including the U.S.—to weaken pro-life laws. With the U.S. as the largest humanitarian donor, the upcoming vote will test the Trump administration’s ability to remove this language and push back against the UN’s growing abortion agenda.
Science Gone Mad
Designer Baby Loophole Emerges in UK: A new Guardian report reveals that UK IVF couples are exploiting a legal loophole to rank embryos for predicted IQ, height, and future disease risk by sending genetic data to U.S. polygenic testing companies. One firm, Herasight, charges £37,000 ($50,000) and claims an average six-point IQ gain when selecting among five embryos. While such screening is illegal in UK clinics, patients can legally obtain and export raw embryo data. Dr. Cristina Hickman says these rapidly advancing technologies have created significant “legal and ethical confusion.”
Pro-Life Around the World
Northern Ireland Abortions Hit Record: Northern Ireland recorded a tragic 2,899 abortions from April 2024 to March 2025—the highest ever—marking a 3.7% rise from last year and an 84% increase since 2021. Late-term abortions more than doubled to 154 (a 103% jump), and disability-selective abortions rose 19%. Abortions among girls under 18 have climbed 61% since 2021. These abortion surges follow Westminster’s imposition of an extreme abortion regime in 2019, replacing protections credited with saving 100,000 lives under Northern Ireland’s former pro-life laws.
Faroe Islands legalize abortion: The Faroe Islands have voted 17–16 to legalize abortion on demand up to 12 weeks, ending decades of strong pro-life protections. The new law, which takes effect July 1, 2026, replaces a 1956 law that allowed abortion only in rare cases and helped keep the islands’ abortion rate at just 3 per 1,000 women—far below Europe’s average of 16. Pro-life MPs and Pro Vita Faroe Islands warned that the change, driven by activist pressure and outside influence, could lead to a surge in abortions and weaker protections for the most vulnerable.
German Bishops Embrace Gender Ideology: A new document from the German Bishops’ Conference instructing Catholic schools to affirm “sexual diversity” has drawn sharp criticism as a deepening sign of the Church’s crisis in Germany. Sociologist Gabriele Kuby warns the text—opposed publicly by only three bishops—flows directly from the radical 2019–2023 Synodal Path, which seeks to normalize homosexuality, bless same-sex unions, and promote gender ideology. Kuby argues the bishops have abandoned Catholic teaching, leaving children vulnerable to the harms of the sexual revolution while the Vatican remains largely silent.
Pro-Life on the Home Front
1 in 4 Face Post-Abortion Trauma: A new study from the International Journal of Women’s Health Care finds that long-term emotional harm from abortion is far more widespread than often acknowledged. Researchers report that 24% of post-abortive women—roughly 1 in 4—experience “serious post-abortion distress” even decades later, with nearly half showing multiple symptoms of post-traumatic stress. The study’s author, Fr. Donald Paul Sullins, calls for more research and better therapeutic support, noting that women are often not informed about the potential for lasting emotional and psychological fallout.
Texas Law Hits Abortion Traffickers: Texas has enacted a new law allowing private citizens to sue out-of-state prescribers, manufacturers, and distributors who traffic abortion drugs into the state, imposing fines of no less than $100,000 per violation. Modeled after Texas’ 2021 heartbeat bill, the measure targets the growing “abortion pill underground,” which sends mail-order mifepristone nationwide despite state bans. Nearly 10% of women who take mifepristone suffer serious complications, and as many as 70% of abortions are believed to be unwanted or coerced. This law is essential to protect women and unborn children from dangerous chemical abortions.
Abortion Pill Review Delayed: A new report alleges that FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has intentionally delayed the promised safety review of the abortion pill mifepristone, despite real-world data suggesting far higher complication rates than the FDA reports. An Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) analysis found that nearly 11% of women experience serious adverse events after taking the drug, a rate 22 times higher than the FDA’s claimed, “less than 0.5 percent.” Pro-life leaders are calling for Makary’s removal, since delaying the review puts women at risk while mail-order abortions continue to rise.
Good News
23-Week Baby Beats Odds: A baby boy born at just 23 weeks and weighing only 1.3 pounds has defied the odds after spending 230 days in the NICU. Baby Freddie survived necrotizing enterocolitis, sepsis, jaundice, suspected meningitis, five surgeries, and eight weeks on a ventilator before finally going home without feeding tubes or oxygen. His mother calls him “so strong” and a reminder that “miracles do happen.” Freddie’s survival shows why the UK must reconsider its 24-week abortion limit.
Quote of the Week
“The American dream was never merely about opportunity; it was about continuity. A belief that life is worth building because someone will inherit it. If we want to restore hope, we can’t talk about only GDP or policy tweaks. We must tell the truth about what we are losing, what Greece is already living through, and what kind of country we will become if Americans stop believing family is worth the struggle, sacrifice and extraordinary reward of a full dinner table.”
~ Bethany Mandel
