In This Issue:
- PRI in the Media
- Papal Silence
- Demography is Destiny
- Brink of Collapse
- Population Control
- Targeted Muslims
- India Warned
- Communist China
- Uyghurs to Testify
- China’s Tech Control
- Science Gone Mad
- Radical Law Revision
- Reproductive Prostitution
- Pro-Life Around the World
- Bullying the G7
- Scottish Suicide
- Pro-Life on the Home Front
- Missouri Law Blocked
- Manchin Backs Hyde
PRI in the Media
Papal Silence:
Journalist Rick Hinshaw addressed the Vatican’s lack of response to the growing list of crimes perpetrated by China. Beginning with the major issue of Uyghur abuse, Hinshaw referenced PRI President Steven Mosher. He illustrated the organ harvesting of these victims, describing how the CCP was “parsing out hearts, livers, lungs and kidneys for resale like so many used car parts”. The list of concerning CCP actions only goes on with military escalation, blatant pursuit of world domination, and the release of the COVID pandemic. Despite all this, Pope Francis has kept his silence. No Vatican action has been taken since the “controversial and largely secret agreement” with the CCP, which failed to curb the Chinese government’s torture of bishops and persecution of Catholics who have not joined the state-backed association. Hinshaw described the normally-vocal head of the Church as “MIA” in this time where China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan need his support the most. Read Here.
Demography is Destiny
Brink of Collapse:
The United States recently recognized that 2020 marked a decade of a continually falling birth rate. Worrisome as this was, the larger reality is even more concerning. The nation has had below-replacement fertility for the past four decades. Immigration after 1965 provided an influx of people that boosted the population, pushing the fertility issue to the background. But now, immigration has slowed and those of recent immigration background are betraying below-replacement fertility as well. Now births in all sectors have declined, leaving no ethnic or racial group untouched. Even the rate of teen pregnancies has fallen. From 2010 to 2020, the average age of a woman having her first child jumped from 23 to 27.
“It would not be difficult to raise the birth rate,” says PRI President Steven Mosher. “We should shelter married couples who have more than three kids from all taxes, pay stay-at-home moms and dads for every kid they have, and offer up to 12 months of paid parental leave. Banning abortion, which we should do for moral reasons, would help produce a much-needed baby boom as well.” Read Here.
Population Control
Targeted Muslims:
Chief Minister Sarma of Assam, India targeted the Muslim minority for population control. This leader stated his view on population as, “the root cause of every social menace” and claimed that controlling it is necessary. His stated solution was for the government to “work for” the community of Muslims to decrease their “population burden”.
The CM received backlash from the All India United Democratic Front. Though they did not completely condemn his vision of population control, they opposed his targeting of one community. The AIUDF believed his targeting was politically motivated. Their suggested solution to the societal issues CM Sarma mentioned was increased education for the public.
“Population control is always about the wealthy targeting the poor, the ethnic majority targeting the ethnic minority. That’s the way it has been since Margaret Sanger’s infamous “negro project”, where she tried to drive down the black and immigrant population in the United States,” says PRI President Steven Mosher. “This tactic has been around since the beginning of the population control movement, but it needs to end now.” Read Here.
India Warned:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been toying with the idea of population control in the form of a two-child limit for several years. Now, in light of China’s recent backpedaling on their own birth control policies, leaders of India have hesitated. Members of the Population Foundation in India see the “human crisis” in China and wish to avoid that future in their own country. Niranjan Saggurti, Director of the Population Council of India, stated that India’s current birth rate and fertility level are satisfactory and do not require coercive measures.
These are steps in the right direction for India, away from coercive birth control measures. But these leaders are still focused on “stabilizing” the population. Underneath their rejection of coercive measures is the condition that families continue in a two-child trend naturally. The government hopes, not for families to bear as many children as they want, but for families to stay small on their own. The idea of coercive measures may be receding, but initiatives for population stabilization remains.
PRI President Steven Mosher says, “Government efforts to drive down the birthrate are always coercive, because you are using the power of the state to interfere in the most private decision that a couple has to make: how many children to have. And don’t forget that it was India that invented the phrase “compul-suasion” which is a combination of compulsion and persuasion that has been used to drive down the birth rate over the decades.” Read Here.
Communist China
Uyghurs to Testify:
Three Uyghur Muslims were able to flee from China to Turkey, escaping the abuses perpetrated by the CCP. These three were victims of torture and forced abortion at the hands of Chinese authorities in the Xinjiang region. They shared their experiences with Associated Press, before they testified virtually to an independent U.K. tribunal. Their stories included being beaten for information and the forced abortion of one woman’s fifth child at 6 ½ months pregnant.
The tribunal is still investigating whether Beijing’s actions against Uyghur Muslims amount to genocide. Unsurprisingly, Beijing has denied all allegations despite rising evidence. Several countries, including the United States and United Kingdom, have declared Beijing’s policies against the Uyghurs as amounting to genocide and crimes against humanity. The tribunal, although not backed by the U.K. government, hopes that exposing the CCP’s abuses will prompt stronger international action. They work towards justice and freedom for the majority of Uyghur Muslims who are not able to flee. The first hearing was held June 4th to 7th, with the next one scheduled for September. Read Here.
Updates on the hearings are available here.
China’s Tech Control:
Since 2012, Xi Jinping has had an eye on the potential of Big Tech companies and their access to a wealth of personal information. What were once suggestions from the leader of the CCP are now demands of the corporate heads. He believes his government should have access to all data from social media and e-commerce. This is not limited to Chinese-led firms, but also foreign firms that operate in China.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Beijing has pushed laws through that will, as of this September, “subject almost all data-related activities to government oversight”. Although many foreign companies are not included in the current guidelines, Beijing is putting pressure on Western companies with offices in China. Organizations such as Apple and Tesla have already caved to these pressures.
PRI President Steven Mosher says, “The CCP is run by a tiny oligarchy that effectively “owns” everything in the country. Nominally private companies have always been under the thumb of the Party only now the control is becoming more and more overt. China’s hi-tech digital dictatorship is accumulating data not only on everyone in China, but everyone in the world.” Read Here.
Science Gone Mad
Radical Law Revision:
The French National Assembly adopted a “radically transgressive” new set of bioethics laws that may enter into force this July. Following in the footsteps of the U.S., the new laws will allow destructive research on human embryos, and allow the creation of chimeric and transgenic embryos. These laws will have an effect on France’s current abortion policies as well, making it “easier than it already is”. They will also mark the “end of the recognition of paternity” and the beginning of mainstream “fatherless procreation”. This was added to cater towards the LGBT+ crowd and to break the tradition of patriarchy that has supposedly damaged society over the past millennia.
PRI President Steven Mosher says, “We are living in the age of Frankenstein, combining animals and humans in ways that should not be allowed. China, with its crosses between monkeys and humans, is not surprisingly the most egregious violator in this regard. I am sorry to learn that France has seen fit to follow.” Read Here.
Reproductive Prostitution:
Sister Renée Mirkes broke down the history, logistics, and effects of surrogacy in her defense of globally banning surrogacy. This practice of paying women to gestate and deliver babies for others became mainstream four decades ago. Since then, it has played a role in the lucrative IVF business. It has been marketed as a natural way for LGBT+ or barren couples to start a family. But in actuality this process is damaging to the surrogate mother and the conceived child. Not to mention the “extra” embryos created for implantation that are thrown away for supposedly being unnecessary or imperfect. It does not create families; it destroys the traditional familial bond. The more successful this business has grown, the more exploited women become as well. Human trafficking of women for reproduction has become an issue, since the children they can bear are so valuable.
There has been and continues to be a lack of organized opposition to the practice of surrogacy from groups that, based upon their missions, should be vocal on this issue. This includes the feminist movement and even the Pro-Life movement. Sister Mirkes claimed that the only solution to protect women, children, and the traditional family (which supports society as a whole) would be a global ban on the practice of surrogacy.
“Surrogacy is dehumanizing for both the mother and the baby,” says PRI President Steven Mosher. “The bond between the mother and her unborn child starts at conception and grows throughout the pregnancy. Rent-a-womb services are rife with abuse and should be banned.” Read Here.
Pro-Life Around the World
Bullying the G7:
The Group of Seven Summit took place this past week in the UK, led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Together the leaders of these countries put together an agreement titled, “Our Shared Agenda for Global Action to Build Back Better”. During the deliberations, one of the six official G7 engagement groups, the Women 7, decided that bullying was necessary to achieve their goals. These goals demanded “concrete commitments” to achieve a “lasting and transformative impact on women and girls’ lives”. This was a vague label for their true wishes, which included increased access and funding for abortion. The group also threatened “isolation from the G7” if pro-life foreign policies were reinstated.
The W7 were relatively successful in their efforts. Although the term “abortion” was not specifically stated in the final agreement, it falls under the “sexual and reproductive health and rights” phrase that was included. The G7 also committed to working closely with the Generation Equality Forum in France. The goals of this group include expanding sexuality education and increasing worldwide access to abortion. They wish to open up countries that currently have protections for unborn children by the year 2026.
“Our “Catholic” president is not content to promote abortion at home, he is promoting it abroad as well,” says PRI President Mosher. “In a world of falling fertility, this makes absolutely no sense. Worse yet, he wants pro-life Americans to pay for abortions both at home and abroad. He ran as a moderate, but is governing as an abortion extremist.” Read Here.
Scottish Suicide:
Scotland has cultivated a culture that regards the lives of the elderly and disabled as less worthy than others. Dr. Calum Mackellar, member of the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, realized this during a lecture at the beginning of the year. He tried to point out the contradiction of Scottish parliament supporting the legislation of state assisted suicide, while also supporting a new Suicide Prevention National Action Plan. The potential irony was lost upon the younger Scottish generation he lectured to, who did not find the two instances of suicide comparable.
Dr. Mackellar delved into the reality of what legalizing assisted suicide does to society. It destroys the intrinsic equality of human life. It would destroy the system for compassionate care of those whose lives are difficult or full of suffering. An attitude would develop that would see ending “unworthy” lives as preferable to providing appropriate palliative care. Dr. Mackellar stated, “Scottish society can choose between absolute autonomy… or absolute equality… But it cannot have both”. Read Here.
Pro-Life on the Home Front
Missouri Law Blocked:
A federal appeals court blocked Missouri from enforcing a law that limits abortion for women who fear that their baby has Down syndrome. This St. Louis-based Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided protecting fetuses with the genetic disorder could “violate some women’s constitutional rights to an abortion”. The regional Planned Parenthood, which is the only one left in Missouri, praised this decision. Read Here.
Federal courts have consistently hesitated to ban abortions before the fetus is viable. But other states are pushing through bills to save babies with Down syndrome. Pennsylvania and North Carolina are the most recent additions.
“Missouri’s law banning the selective abortion of Down syndrome babies is only the latest in a long line of pro-life laws put on hold by the courts,” says PRI President, Steven Mosher. “I am hopeful that the pro-life majority on the Supreme Court will not only allow these laws to stand, but will, at long last, overturn Roe v. Wade.”
Manchin Backs Hyde:
Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, stated that he will support the Hyde amendment “in every way possible”. This support could be the key to keeping the long-time ban on using federal funds for abortion services. Several of Manchin’s fellow Democrats on the Appropriations Committee, Sen. Murray and Sen. DeLauro, have clearly shared that they want Hyde out of the 2022 fiscal plan. Manchin, sided with the Republicans, could keep the other Democrats from pushing through a spending bill that does not include the ban. Read Here.
Quote of the Week
“God did not create a human family made up of segregated, dissociated, mutually independent members. No; He would have them all united by the bond of total love of Him and consequent self-dedication to assisting each other to maintain that bond intact.”
~ Pope Venerable Pius XII, Discurso di sua Santita Source
