In This Issue:
- PRI in the Media
- The Overpopulation Myth Lives
- Deepening Depopulation
- Germany’s Births Hit 30-Year Low
- U.S. Faces “Demographic Dead End”
- Finland’s Births Linked to Church Membership
- Russia Pushes Families to Boost Births
- Communist China
- China Frees Christian Pastor
- China’s Birth Crisis Threatens Innovation
- UN Misdeeds
- Pro-Lifers Prevail at OAS
- Pro-Life Around the World
- New Zealand Euthanasia Surges
- Ireland’s Abortions Near 47,000
- Pro-Life on the Home Front
- Planned Parenthood Regains Medicaid Funding
- Mail-Order Abortions Bypass State Laws
- Mothers Defend Abortion Pill Reversal
- Good News
- 22-Week Preemie Now Thriving
PRI in the Media
The Overpopulation Myth Lives: This week, National Right to Life republished a piece by PRI President Steven Mosher examining the lasting impact of Paul Ehrlich’s 1968 bestseller The Population Bomb. Mr. Mosher argues that Ehrlich’s predictions of famine and environmental collapse proved false, yet his warnings persuaded generations of Americans to have few or no children. As birth rates continue to fall worldwide, Mr. Mosher explains that the real demographic challenge today is not overpopulation, but declining fertility and population collapse.
Deepening Depopulation
Germany’s Births Hit 30-Year Low: Germany’s fertility rate fell to 1.32 children per woman in 2025, down from 1.61 just five years earlier, marking its lowest level in three decades. Birth rates declined among both German women (1.20) and women of foreign origin (1.78), while adoptions fell to an all-time low of 3,517. The continued decline underscores Europe’s deepening demographic crisis as births remain well below replacement level.
U.S. Faces “Demographic Dead End”: A new Institute for Family Studies report warns that America has entered its third—and longest—period of sustained below-replacement fertility, with the birth rate now below 1.6 children per woman. If current trends continue, the U.S. population could peak at 351 million before declining in the 2050s. Although Americans still say they want 2.4 children on average, researchers argue that cultural influences and stronger family-friendly policies will be needed to close the widening gap between desired and actual family size.
Finland’s Births Linked to Church Membership: A new study of Finnish population data found that declining membership in the country’s state church is associated with falling fertility rates. Finland’s total fertility rate dropped 30% between 2010 and 2023. However, couples in which both partners belonged to the state church were significantly more likely to have their first child. Researchers concluded that secularization has contributed to lower birth rates by reducing both religious affiliation and the number of religious couples starting families.
“One of the biggest factors determining birth rates is the strength of religious belief,” says Mr. Mosher. “Christians who believe that children are a blessing from the Lord tend, not surprisingly, to have more little blessings.”
Russia Pushes Families to Boost Births: Facing what Kremlin officials have called a “catastrophic” birth-rate crisis, Russia is expanding pro-family campaigns tied to traditional values and the Russian Orthodox Church. Russian women now average just 1.4 children, while deaths outnumber births by roughly 600,000 annually. The government has declared reversing the demographic decline a priority, promoting marriage, larger families, and policies aimed at increasing births.
Communist China
China Frees Christian Pastor: Chinese authorities have released underground Christian pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, who was arrested in October 2025 during a crackdown that detained nearly 30 Christians across nine cities connected to Zion Church. Jin was reunited with his family in Los Angeles after President Trump personally raised his case with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The release may be a hopeful sign for the many other persecuted Christians in China.
“I was heartened to hear that Pastor Ezra Jin has been released and reunited with his family,” says Mr. Mosher. “It would not have happened without President Trump’s personal intervention with Communist China’s leader Xi Jinping. Sadly, many other Catholics and Christians, including the heroic Jimmy Lai, remain behind bars on false charges, white martyrs to the faith.”
China’s Birth Crisis Threatens Innovation: China’s birth rate fell to 5.63 births per 1,000 people in 2025, its lowest level since 1949, prompting renewed warnings about the nation’s demographic decline. Trip.com co-founder James Liang argued that shrinking populations undermine innovation, noting that two-thirds of the world’s population now lives in countries with below-replacement fertility. He warned that without stronger pro-family policies, aging societies risk economic stagnation and losing their technological edge.
UN Misdeeds
Pro-Lifers Prevail at OAS: The United States and several Latin American nations successfully blocked abortion and gender ideology language from resolutions adopted at the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly. Countries including Argentina, Paraguay, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Chile, and Peru opposed the controversial language after years of pro-abortion terminology dominating OAS agreements. Advocates warn, however, that UN agencies and leftist European governments continue using international institutions to pressure pro-life nations to adopt abortion and gender ideology.
Pro-Life Around the World
New Zealand Euthanasia Surges: New Zealand recorded 486 euthanasia and assisted suicide deaths between April 2025 and March 2026, a 48.17% increase from the first full year after legalization. Since the law took effect in 2021, 1,696 people have ended their lives through assisted death. The report also found that one in five applicants were not receiving palliative care, while lawmakers continue pushing to expand eligibility beyond the current six-month terminal illness requirement rather than improving access to end-of-life care.
Ireland’s Abortions Near 47,000: Ireland recorded 46,861 abortions between 2019 and 2024, according to the Health Service Executive’s first report on abortion services since legalization. The vast majority were early-pregnancy abortions, while 575 were performed following prenatal diagnoses expected to result in the child’s death and 147 due to risks to the mother’s life or health. Meanwhile, lawmakers are advancing legislation to eliminate the nation’s mandatory three-day waiting period before an abortion.
“Abortion, once unthinkable in Catholic Ireland, has now become commonplace,” says Mr. Mosher. “I will be going to Ireland later this year to encourage Irish Catholics to take back their country from those who are destroying not only its Catholic heritage, but the future of the Irish people themselves with their reckless promotion of abortion.”
Pro-Life on the Home Front
Planned Parenthood Regains Medicaid Funding: Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, has resumed billing Medicaid for non-abortion services after nearly a year without federal reimbursements. The organization has claimed that the funding cut contributed to the closure of nearly 30 of its roughly 600 clinics, along with a 25% decline in birth control distribution and a 20% drop in breast cancer screenings. Pro-life advocates are urging Congress to once again end taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood.
Mail-Order Abortions Bypass State Laws: A new report from the Restoration of America Foundation estimates that more than 328,000 abortion pills were shipped into states with abortion restrictions between July 2023 and December 2025 under blue-state shield laws. Monthly shipments nearly tripled, rising from 5,400 to 14,870, while 22 states and Washington, D.C. have adopted shield laws, including 8 states that explicitly protect telehealth abortion providers prescribing pills to pro-life states. The report urges the Trump administration to restore FDA safeguards and stop interstate mail-order abortions.
Mothers Defend Abortion Pill Reversal: More than 200 women, including over 40 from California, have signed an open letter defending Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) as California continues its lawsuit against Heartbeat International and RealOptions Obria Medical Clinics. The Abortion Pill Rescue Network, which includes nearly 1,500 healthcare professionals, reports that more than 8,000 babies have been saved through APR. The mothers say they received compassionate care and the information needed to make an informed decision after regretting a chemical abortion.
Good News
22-Week Preemie Now Thriving: Baby Isaac, born at just 22 weeks and three days, weighing only 1.22 pounds, is now thriving after 99 days in the hospital. Thanks to months of specialized neonatal care, he has grown to more than 4.4 pounds—over three-and-a-half times his birth weight—and is now preparing to go home. His remarkable recovery highlights the resilience of even the smallest and most vulnerable newborns when given the chance to live.
Quote of the Week
“Everyone must be helped to become aware of the intrinsic evil of the crime of abortion. In attacking human life in its very first stages, it is also an aggression against society itself. Politicians and legislators, therefore, as servants of the common good, are duty bound to defend the fundamental right to life, the fruit of God’s love.”
~ Pope Benedict XVI
