In This Issue:
- PRI in the Media
- China’s Issues
- The Devil and Communism
- The Pope & China
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- Japan’s New Data
- Mothers Have to Work
- Communist China
- Renting American Wombs
- The Trip to Mongolia
- UN Misdeeds
- Millions for Abortion
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- Abortion Battles in Mexico
- Protests Against Propaganda
- Freedom to Live
- Pro-Life on the Home Front
- Fighting Abortion Drugs
- Facing Prison and Fines
- Good News
- A Blessed Family
PRI in the Media
China’s Issues: The Westminster Institute hosted PRI President Steven Mosher to discuss the demographic challenge that China is facing. As reported previously, China’s fertility rate continues to fall despite the CCP’s efforts to reverse this trend. But this isn’t the country’s only issue. Besides creating an unsustainable fertility rate, the government has generated an unsustainable amount of debt. If that weren’t enough, the CCP has polluted China’s land, water, and air through its industries. The CCP’s pursuit of money and power has created a harsh reality for its citizens. It is a reality that they cannot escape, trapped as they are under the CCP. When these factors are all considered, it is no surprise that Chinese couples are reluctant to bring new life into the world.
PRI President Steven Mosher says, “The CCP has always treated China’s masses as an inexhaustible resource that they could squander at will. And squander it they have, by the hundreds of millions. I am sure that neither Deng Xiaoping nor any of his successors ever imagined that their brutal one-child policy would result in the death of the China Dream. But just as surely as they buried the 400 million little victims of their one-child policy in unmarked graves, they have buried their own dreams of world domination.”
The Devil and Communism: In this article, PRI President Steven Mosher gives a sneak peek into his upcoming book, The Devil and Communist China. Communism made the Chinese government the “Biggest Killing Machine in Human History.” China has the highest 20th-century death toll as a result of Communism, but even the estimate of 65 million is considered a lowball guess. It also does not include the 400 million unborn, and in some cases newborn, babies that were sacrificed for the one-child policy. “Only God knows the exact number of those killed by the CCP,” says Mr. Mosher. “But by my calculations, the number is close to 500 million—a truly insane level of butchery.” While these 20th-century counts are studied, the number of the CCP’s 21st-century victims continues to grow.
The Pope & China: In one of his signature in-flight press conferences, Pope Francis commented on the relationship between the Vatican and China. On the return flight from Mongolia, the Holy Father shared that the relationship is “very respectful.” Despite the recent issues with the Sino-Vatican agreement, Pope Francis further said, “The channels are very open – for the appointment of bishops there is a commission that has been working with the Chinese government and the Vatican for a long time.” The positive comments may be the Pope’s response to Xi Jinping granting him permission to fly through Chinese airspace twice, during his trip to Mongolia.
Deepening Depopulation
Japan’s New Data: Japan just released some shocking demographic data, and experts worry that this is a glimpse into the United States’ future. Japan’s National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (IPSS) recently revealed that an estimated one-third of women who are eighteen now will never have children. This translates to a steep decrease in population by 2070, from 126.15 million in 2020 to 87 million. As the cost of living rises and the desire to marry falls, the number of Japanese children being born becomes fewer and fewer. These are the same issues that the U.S. is facing. While the North American fertility rate isn’t currently as dire as Japan’s, it one day could be.
“The solution–as PRI has been arguing for decades now–is not to imagine that some combination of incentives will magically cause everyone to marry and have two children,” says Mr. Mosher. “Rather it is to concentrate on providing support for that minority of the population, perhaps only 25 percent, who are interested in marrying and having large families. They will more than makeup for those who, for one reason or another, choose to remain childless.”
Mothers Have to Work: The Financial Times recently reported that a record number of mothers are re-entering the workforce. Apparently, the U.S. is seeing “more mothers in the workforce … since the labor department began tracking them in 1948, according to an analysis of government labor market data.” The main reason behind this trend is most likely the country’s struggling economy, the result of “Bidenomics.” Today, families struggle to cover their economic needs on one income. While American families struggle, the Biden administration praises this return of mothers to the workforce, pretending it does not represent its own failure.
“‘Bidenomics–as Joe Biden refers to his sinking economy–is a disaster for American families,” says Mr. Mosher. “The looming repression is driving down the birth rate. At the same time, it is forcing moms and the retired out of their homes and back into the workforce as the cost of living skyrockets, most often into low-paying, part-time jobs.”
Communist China
Renting American Wombs: The Chinese demand for surrogates is rising and the United States is one of the main suppliers. Media outlets have warned for years that the “birth tourism” between China and the U.S. needs stricter regulations. Yet the practice continues. Chinese nationals are able to rent American wombs, which provides them with both a child and a way to escape China. These commissioned children come with a U.S. birth certificate, along with social security numbers, access to education, and a path for their biological parents to receive a green card when the child turns 21. Not only is this a threat to national security, but surrogacy is an affront to human dignity. This immoral practice allows the human trafficking of infants to continue globally.
“Monterey Park, California, used to have a number of homes filled with pregnant women from China, who were there to give birth on American soil so that their babies would have American citizenship,” says Mr. Mosher. “Now, in pursuit of the same thing, wealthy Chinese are renting the wombs of American women to give birthright citizenship to babies conceived in vitro. The law needs to be changed to stop such abuses.”
The Trip to Mongolia: Last week, Catholics from all across Asia traveled to Mongolia to see the country’s first-ever papal mass. The Mass, held in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar, drew a relatively small crowd of 2,000 attendees. This gave many of the travelers the opportunity to meet the pope personally. Despite Catholics from mainland China being forbidden from attending, there were those who risked the trip anyway in order to attend the Mass. Pope Francis’ message to this gathering was one of hope, sharing that the answer to human longing and thirst is Jesus Christ. “For in this thirst lies the great mystery of our humanity: It opens our hearts to the living God, the God of love, who comes to meet us and to make us his children, brothers and sisters to one another,” said the Holy Father.
UN Misdeeds
Millions for Abortion: The World Health Organisation (WHO) released its annual budget for its sexual health and reproduction program, revealing that it is spending millions of dollars on projects related to global abortion provision. The Human Reproduction Program (HRP), run by the WHO, directed 11% of its funds for 2022-23 on projects related to abortion. These projects included pushing for DIY abortions around the world and increasing the availability of the two abortion drugs, Mifepristone and Misoprostol. Meanwhile, other areas in the budget received either less than or little more than the amount provided for abortion projects, despite tackling actually necessary issues. Only 5% of the budget was spent on programs tackling violence against women and girls. And only 15% funded maternal and perinatal health.
“You would think that any organization devoted to human health would understand that pregnancy is not a disease, and abortion is not health care,” says Mr. Mosher. “But the so-called WHO is an integral part of the population control movement, whose goal is to radically reduce the world’s population down to one billion or so. Abortion is one of the means used to achieve that end.”
Pro-Life Around the World
Abortion Battles in Mexico: At the end of August, Mexico’s Supreme Court overturned a state-level abortion ban. Aguascalientes is the twelfth Mexican state to strike down abortion restrictions out of the thirty-two total. This decision brings Mexico one step closer to allowing the murderous practice throughout the entire country. Pro-life representative Luis Martínez believes that pro-life groups’ efforts to influence policy won’t be enough moving forward. “I see a very complicated situation here in Mexico,” Martínez said. “The only way to reverse the situation would be explicitly putting the right to life from conception in the constitution.”
Protests Against Propaganda: Groups of parents in Mexico took to the streets to protest the Department of Education. It is reported that at least 12,000 people attended this gathering. The protest included the burning of school books that promoted leftist ideologies. These include “Marxist-communist” indoctrination, as well as sexual and gender ideology content. These protests motivated the Supreme Court of Mexico to suspend the distribution of these books in Northern states. Authorities in at least eight of Mexico’s 32 states have refused to distribute the books.
Freedom to Live: Despite train strikes, around 7,000 pro-lifers attended the 9th annual March for Life in central London. Held on September 2nd, pro-lifers of all ages marched in opposition to the UK’s abortion laws, which generally permit abortion up until 24 weeks gestation. They also marched for all the little lives that have been lost since the Abortion Act passed in 1967. Since this legalization, an estimated 10 million babies have been aborted in England, Wales, and Scotland. The speakers at the end of the march gave rousing testimonies, drowning out the much smaller pro-abortion counter-demonstration. With the number of pro-lifers who attended the March having increased, Ben Thatcher, co-director of the March for Life, expressed his hope that there would be 10,000 supporters at the March for Life 2024.
Pro-Life on the Home Front
Fighting Abortion Drugs: Pro-life states are fighting a constant battle to keep abortion pills out of their borders. But the black market continues to ship drugs to areas where abortions are illegal. One European-based supplier, Aid Access, boldly claimed it had sent abortion pills to more than 3,500 people in pro-life states in less than a month. Rebecca Weaver, legislative director of Texas Right to Life, accurately described the situation by saying, “This is a whole new frontier, honestly, that we as the pro-life movement are having to face.” Lawmakers and lobbyists are looking for ways to cut off this black market, potentially by targeting the websites that advertise these dangerous drugs. But until a solution is found, vulnerable women are at risk of taking dangerous drugs associated with severe complications, including the death of their unborn child.
Facing Prison and Fines: Four more defendants are facing federal charges for participating in a 2020 “rescue action” protest at a Washington D.C.-based abortion clinic. Indicted in 2022, their trial begins this week. If found guilty of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, these pro-lifers could spend up to eleven years in prison and be forced to pay up to $350,000 in fines. This trial is further evidence of the “political witch hunt” against pro-lifers. In D.C., the “most pro-abortion city in America” by some estimations, it will be difficult for these defenders of life to receive a completely fair trial.
Good News
A Blessed Family: This Sunday, Vatican Cardinal Marcello Semeraro will preside over the beatification of nine members of a single family. This is widely believed to be the first time an entire family has been raised to the altars at one time. The Ulma family was martyred in 1944 for hiding eight Jewish people in their home. They started hiding these Jewish residents in 1942, despite knowing that the Nazi punishment for doing so was death. At the time that the family was killed by Nazis, Wiktoria Ulma, wife and mother in the household, was seven months pregnant. She went into labor during her execution and gave birth to her baby as she died. This youngest child is included in the beatification, despite having no name, because he was baptized by the blood of his parents’ martyrdom.
Quote of the Week
“As Catholics, we must reject the hatred preached, and the violence practiced, by Communism and embrace a life of mercy and compassion for others.”
~ PRI President Steven Mosher, The Devil and Communist China
