In This Issue:
- PRI in the Media
- Hungry for USA Funds
- Deepening Depopulation
- The Facts of Falling Fertility
- Communist China
- Subtle Attempts
- UN Misdeeds
- Ipas Puts on the Pressure
- Science Gone Mad
- Democrats IVF Bill
- Pro-life Around the World
- Milei’s Declaration
- Pope Mentions Birth Rate
- Remove Fernandez
- Pro-Life on the Home Front
- Biden Invites Kate Cox
- Mike Johnson’s Message
- Chris Smith’s Message
- Pro Lifers Face Prison
- Good News
- Saved as a Baby
PRI in the Media
Hungry for USA Funds: China chases American investors who are willing to pour money into cheap goods. Chinese companies, like the cut-rate clothing distributor Shein, keep sweatshops running for this purpose. But why does China have to chase American money instead of seeking investments from its own citizens? As PRI President Steven Mosher points out, Chinese investors won’t pour money into China’s own businesses because they know too much. Chinese companies chase ignorant Americans who don’t know that Chinese companies routinely exaggerate their profits, lying so consistently that an investor can never be sure how the business is actually doing. Mr. Mosher also points out that the CCP has its hands in every Chinese business, as any business begins with “enlisting corrupt officials as pricy patrons.” Chinese investors understand the crucial fact that no one’s money or property is safe as long as the Chinese Communist Party is in power, especially in the era of Xi Jinping.
Deepening Depopulation
The Facts of Falling Fertility: The reality that fertility rates are falling has finally begun to trickle into mainstream media. The Institute of Family Studies points out that several female writers have addressed fertility, marriage, and the decline of both. These articles have also begun to address the misconceptions that surround these topics. One progressive writer, Rachel Cohen, found that the reigning narrative that negatively portrays motherhood isn’t the majority experience. It turns out that most mothers, even progressive mothers, “find meaning and fulfillment in the sacrifices they’ve made to welcome a child, even if they don’t feel comfortable sharing that to the world.” While it is positive to know that the narrative that creates “mom dread” is generally false, this narrative continues to wreak havoc. It still convinces women that becoming a mother isn’t worth the cost and they have to give up too much. One of the biggest drivers of declining fertility is the perceived cost of motherhood.
Communist China
Subtle Attempts: After months of obvious efforts to raise marriage and birth rates, the CCP is now making more subtle attempts at changing the culture. For decades a statue depicting two parents and one child stood on the banks of Hankou Jiangtan Park in Wuhan. Overnight, two additional sculpted children were added to this statue, representing the push for the three-child policy. According to the sculptor, Guo Xue, local officers requested the additional children at the end of 2023 for “cultural improvement” reasons. These subtle changes haven’t gone unnoticed by Chinese citizens. Reacting to these sneaky attempts, one young man from Hangzhou shared, “I feel a kind of invisible pressure, as if having children and getting married has transformed from a family task into a societal one.” Similar actions were taken when the one-child policy expanded to two children. It did not increase the birth rate then and it is doubtful these “cultural changes” will make a difference now.
UN Misdeeds
Ipas Puts on Pressure: Ipas, an international abortion organization, plans to pressure the United States into aligning its abortion laws to the UN Human Rights Committee recommendations. This past October, Ipas lobbied the Human Rights Committee to accuse the U.S. of violating the human right to abortion. However, the UN has never acknowledged a human right to abortion in any human rights documents — as it shouldn’t, because there is no intrinsic right to abortion. Ipas persevered in its efforts and managed to evoke a recommendation from the committee for the U.S. to fully decriminalize abortion. While UN recommendations are not binding, progressive groups treat them as authoritative and will use them to expand the abortion agenda.
Science Gone Mad
Democrat’s IVF Bill: Big Fertility is a booming multi-billion-dollar industry built on assisted reproductive technologies and Democrats want to increase this business in all fifty states. Democrats Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Sen. Patty Murray, and Rep. Susan Wild have introduced the “Access To Family Building Act” (AFBA) allegedly to protect the process of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) for hopeful parents. But the legislation would do much more than that. The bill would protect the creation and destruction of embryos. “All treatments or procedures” involving eggs, sperm, and embryos would be protected. If states try to limit procedures like IVF, surrogacy, and oocyte sales, even if the limits are globally accepted, they could be sued by individuals or Big Fertility facilities. The Democrats want to further degrade human life, contributing to the millions of frozen embryos in the world, by further turning the creation of life into a lucrative business.
Pro-life Around the World
Milei’s Declaration: (Article in Spanish) This week, the Argentinian Milei administration declared 2024: “The Year of the Defense of Life, Property, and Liberty.” Javier Milei is committed to building the country back up again, starting with the most basic right, the right to life. He stated, “The Argentine Republic protects the right to life since it is a right inherent to the human person.” From there, the administration is making it clear to the people that they can enjoy freedom, including economic freedom. In the coming year, this declaration will be placed on every official document, next to the coat of arms, and serve as a reminder of these rights.
Pope Mentions Birth Rate: At the very end of an address last Saturday, Pope Francis brought up his concerns about the low birth rates in the Mediterranean. Though the Holy Father’s primary concerns were environmental, he recognized that children are the future. He stated, “We must take the problem of the birth rate seriously, take it seriously because the future of the country is at stake.” Pope Francis did not advise on how to counter the “culture of depopulation,” but reaffirming the importance of marriage and family would be a start. Couples should want to bring children into this world out of love, not solely out of civic duty. Here at PRI, we work, hope, and pray for a global culture of life that can counter depopulation, through a renewed respect for life, marriage, and family.
Remove Fernandez: The John Paul II Academy of Human Life and the Family has released a statement calling for Pope Francis to dismiss Cardinal Victor Manual Fernandez. The Academy pointed out that Cardinal Fernandez is not suitable for the position of Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. In past decades, Fernandez wrote scandalous books of an erotic nature that border on pornography and which contain passages that clash with the traditional teaching of the Church. When confronted with these pieces, which are not listed under his official publications, Fernandez did not retract the disgraceful passages in the works. Instead, he simply stated that he would not have published them today and that he had prohibited their reprinting.
Pro-Life on the Home Front
Biden Invites Kate Cox: President Biden is once again signaling how pro-abortion his administration is committed to being. Biden and his wife have extended an invitation to the Texas woman who sued her state for not being able to get an abortion, Kate Cox. When Cox found out that her unborn baby had Trisomy-18, a rare genetic disorder, she immediately wanted an abortion. She created a publicity storm in Texas and then traveled out of the state to abort her baby. Now, she will serve as Biden’s poster child for why abortion-on-demand should be the law of the land.
Mr. Mosher says, “All those suffering with guilt over having aborted a child, all those mourning for an unborn child they lost through miscarriage should know this: That ensoulment occurs at conception, and that the souls of those children, as Saint Pope John Paul taught us, are with the Father. And, yes, although our time on earth together was cut short, we will be together for eternity in Heaven.”
Mike Johnson’s Message: Speaker Mike Johnson delivered an empowering speech at the 2024 March for Life, despite the inclement weather. He began by highlighting how the March represented “a beautiful picture of America,” and how individuals from all over come together to celebrate life. He then went back in history to cite the principles our country was founded upon: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. America’s founders recognized the right to life from day one. As Johnson pointed out, the founders believed that all men were created, not born, equal. Johnson believes in the American pro-life movement’s ability to protect our God-given right to life and stand with every woman for every child.
Chris Smith’s Message: Representative Chris Smith also presented at the March for Life. His speech was centered around the important work of pregnancy resource centers. Smith looked at the broad picture of the 2,700 centers in America but also shared personal stories of women who chose life for their babies because of a pro-life center. Smith went on to share the pro-life proposals that are on their way to protecting resources for women and their babies, as well as how necessary these proposals are in the fight against the pro-abortion Biden administration.
Pro Lifers Face Prison: This past Tuesday, jury selection began for the case against six pro-lifers. These individuals were charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for blocking the entrance to a Tennessee abortion facility and temporarily halting business in March 2021. The group consists of individuals aged between 50 and 70, with some of them being grandparents. They face up to 11 years in federal prison and $250,000 in fines. This trial is a continuation of the witch-hunt against pro-life activists that has occurred under the Biden administration.
“While Biden is pledging to legalize abortion up to (and beyond) birth, peaceful pro-life protesters are having the book thrown at them,” says Mr. Mosher. “Make no mistake: These are politically motivated prosecutions timed for maximum public impact during an election year. We’ve seen this play before.”
Good News
Saved as a Baby: Throughout his papacy, Saint Pope John Paul II was a fierce advocate for the unborn. He defended life from conception to natural death and urged mothers around the world to choose life. For the then-Holy Father, it was an issue that hit close to home. His mother, Emilia Wojtyla, was advised to have an abortion by her doctor. The doctor maintained that Emilia would die if she went through the birth. However, Emilia remained strong. She refused the abortion and found a midwife who would help during the delivery. On May 18, 1920, she gave birth to the future Saint Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyla, and survived the process.
Quote of the Week
“The United States—and the world—must more fully recognize the breathtaking miracle of the newly created life of an unborn child and that women deserve better than abortion.”
~ Rep. Chris Smith, March for Life 2024, source
