In This Issue:
- Deepening Depopulation
- Pro-Natal Goes Global
- Falling Fertility in India
- Communist China
- Exploited Universities
- Science Gone Mad
- Free IVF, with a Catch
- Hundreds of Violations
- Suicide Prevented
- Pro-Life Around the World
- Sovereignty & Life Kept Safe
- Protest in Seoul
- Pro-Life on the Home Front
- Bishops’ Election Reaction
- ER Visits Increase
- Good News
- Lives Saved Last Year
Deepening Depopulation
Pro-Natal Goes Global: Katalin Novák, former president of Hungary, has taken her pro-natalist advocacy global. During her time as Hungary’s president, she played a key role in implementing comprehensive family support measures under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government. Now, she has become CEO and co-founder of a pro-natal NGO, X·Y Worldwide. The organization, co-founded with Stephen J. Shaw, focuses on addressing the world’s declining birthrates and promoting the value of family life. X·Y Worldwide has already made waves internationally, visiting countries like South Korea and Japan to highlight the dangers of demographic collapse. With Novák’s vision and the support of figures like Elon Musk potentially backing the cause, there is hope that pro-natalism will become a driving force in global culture, countering the ongoing fertility crisis.
Falling Fertility in India: India may now be the world’s most populous country with 1.45 billion people, but that hasn’t kept it safe from the global trend of fertility decline. For decades, Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have called for population control due to a false link between population growth and developmental challenges. But, political leaders, especially in southern states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, are now urging families to have more children to avoid the consequences of an aging population. Fertility rates in these states have fallen below the replacement level (2.1), with some regions matching Nordic countries. The rapid fertility decline—accelerated over just 45 years—poses future challenges, including an increase in the elderly population and strain on financial systems.
“Southern India has always been a playground for the population controllers,” says Mr. Mosher. “The high caste Hindus who live in Northern India have always looked down on the lower caste peoples who reside in the South and have sought to reduce their number. This is a particular concern for Catholics because most Indian Catholics reside in the Southern provinces Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which have been targeted by population control programs from the very beginning.”
Communist China
Exploited Universities: Georgia Institute of Technology has been pulled into the U.S.-China geopolitical conflict, as U.S. lawmakers accuse Chinese officials of exploiting American university research for military advancement. A September report by Republican members of Congress claimed that China has benefitted from U.S.-funded research, including joint educational initiatives, which have helped develop Chinese semiconductors, AI, and military technology. These allegations have raised concerns about the future of U.S.-China university partnerships, with some experts theorizing that the new administration may impose stricter scrutiny or halt these exchanges altogether.
Science Gone Mad
Free IVF, with a Catch: Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder of Telegram, has partnered with a Moscow IVF clinic, AltraVita, to offer free in vitro fertilization (IVF) to women if they use his sperm. Durov is already the biological father to over 100 children, through his previous sperm donations to AltraVita. Despite being under criminal investigation in France for child sexual abuse images, drug trafficking, and fraudulent transactions associated with his app Telegram, Durov is described by the clinic as a “generous” benefactor helping women who want to become parents. However, IVF is an immoral practice that involves the mass production of embryonic children, many of which will be indefinitely frozen or destroyed. IVF also has physical, psychological, and social consequences for the children conceived and born using this procedure.
For more information on IVF, read our latest fact sheet: “In Vitro Fertilization: The Process, Risks, & Consequences Explained.”
Hundreds of Violations: A bombshell report from Canada reveals that over the past few years, more than 400 violations of the country’s euthanasia law, known as Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), have been identified in Ontario. Yet none have been reported to law enforcement. Alexander Raikin, a bioethics fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, revealed that Ontario’s euthanasia regulators have flagged hundreds of instances of non-compliance, including incomplete documentation and failure to meet federal reporting requirements by physicians administering assisted suicides. Despite these violations, the Ontario Chief Coroner’s office, led by Dr. Dirk Huyer, has only referred four cases to regulatory bodies, with all other violations deemed “lower-level offenses” and not involving police. In 2023 alone, 178 compliance issues were reported, averaging one every other day, raising concerns about the lack of accountability in the oversight of Canada’s euthanasia law.
Suicide Prevented: A British Columbia judge has blocked controversial euthanasia doctor Ellen Wiebe from proceeding with the euthanasia of a 53-year-old woman with bipolar disorder, just one day before the procedure was set to take place. The injunction, granted by Justice Simon R. Coval, prevents the approval of euthanasia or assisted suicide for the woman for 30 days. The woman’s partner argued that her condition, a mental illness, does not meet the legal criteria for euthanasia, as it is not considered an “irremediable” medical condition. The woman had specifically sought out Dr. Wiebe, who boasts about having ended the lives of over 400 of her patients via euthanasia, believing–correctly–that the doctor would approve her for euthanasia without the necessary requirements.
Pro-Life Around the World
Sovereignty & Life Kept Safe: The Congress of the Republic of Peru has passed Bill No. 6290, which redefines the country’s relationship with the rulings of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR). Sponsored by Congressman Alejandro Muñante, the law aims to bolster Peru’s legal independence by exempting it from adhering to IACtHR interpretations in cases where Peru is not a party. This new legislation ends the doctrine of “control of conventionality,” which previously required Peruvian judges to align domestic rulings with IACtHR guidelines, even in cases involving other countries. The law emphasizes national sovereignty, asserting that Peru should not be compelled to implement foreign judicial interpretations that contradict its own legal principles. The move is particularly significant in the context of the IACtHR’s upcoming ruling on the Beatriz v. El Salvador case, which could address the so-called “right” to abortion. Muñante, a pro-life advocate, sees the law as a model for other Latin American nations seeking to protect their judicial sovereignty against external influence.
Protest in Seoul: On October 27, approximately 1.1 million Christians gathered in Seoul for a massive protest against same-sex marriage, pro-LGBT laws, and a Supreme Court ruling that granted certain spousal rights to the LGBT community. Organized by a coalition of Christian groups, the event became one of South Korea’s largest religious gatherings, resembling a church service. Participants criticized these developments as contradictory to natural laws and an infringement on freedom of conscience and religion. Organizers also argued that the Supreme Court’s decision favoring LGBT individuals was unconstitutional, as South Korea does not recognize same-sex marriage. Speakers warned that the growing acceptance of LGBT rights was a threat to South Korea’s foundational values and urged the country to resist following the Western trend of devaluing Christian principles.
Pro-Life on the Home Front
Bishops’ Election Reaction: This week, U.S. bishops gathered for the annual U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ fall assembly. Days before the assembly, Jonathan Liedl, senior editor of the National Catholic Register, speculated as to what this meeting would look like in the wake of Trump’s election victory. The USCCB had already issued a statement from conference president Archbishop Timothy Broglio congratulating Trump while reaffirming the Church’s nonpartisan stance and focus on the common good. But a more detailed commentary was expected at this assembly, as would follow the pattern of previous assemblies. On the topic of one major issue that the bishops would need to address, Liedl stated, “The USCCB will also have to contend with the novelty of a Republican administration that is effectively pro-choice.”
In response, PRI President Steven Mosher stated the following:
“This is a gross misreading of the situation, of course. I have every expectation that the Trump administration is going to do much to limit funding for abortion at home and abroad, as well as support policies that support women and families in choosing Life, just as it did the first time around.
Not to mention that we have the hope that the 14th Amendment will be interpreted by the Supreme Court in ways that protect all Americans, including unborn Americans, when a case comes before it.
As for immigration, as the billions of dollars that the Biden administration poured into importing millions of foreigners illegally into the country dries up, expect some prelates to rail loudly against the “inhumanity” of deporting lawbreakers–much more loudly, in fact, than they ever did about protecting the unborn.”
ER Visits Increase: According to a new report from the Heritage Foundation, evidence suggests that the FDA’s removal of the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone has led to an increase in emergency room (ER) visits due to complications from induced abortions. Additionally, there has been an increase in ER visits for reported miscarriages, which could indicate that some attempted abortions are being misreported as miscarriages. This trend has been observed four years after the policy change, even when controlling for other risk factors for miscarriage. Given these findings, which point to negative impacts on maternal health, the recommendation is for the FDA to reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone and reverse its decision to allow retail pharmacies to distribute the drug, in order to prioritize evidence-based public health policy.
“Pro-lifers always knew that sending the abortion pill through the mail was a bad idea,” says Mr. Mosher. “But now we have proof. Allowing young women to self-administer a dangerous drug without the supervision of a physician is harming, even killing, them. The incoming Trump administration needs to ban the use of U.S. Postal Service to deliver these dangerous drugs.”
Good News
Lives Saved Last Year: One year ago, Fr. Jesús Mariscal, a parochial vicar at the Yakima cathedral, helped deliver twins after coming across a distressed woman in labor. Fr. Mariscal even saved the life of the second baby, Timothy, who was not breathing at birth. Fr. Mariscal successfully resuscitated him. Though the babies’ mother was unable to care for them due to addiction issues, their father, Lucius Moran, stepped in and has cared for his sons since birth. Moran, who had previously struggled with addiction, credits Fr. Mariscal with saving his sons’ lives and says that the experience of raising the twins has helped him overcome his own challenges.
Quote of the Week
“God wishes men to be born not only that they should live and fill the earth, but much more that they may be worshippers of God, that they may know Him and love Him and finally enjoy Him forever in heaven”
~Pope Pius XI, Casti Connubi
