In This Issue:
- Deepening Depopulation
- Shorter Work Weeks
- Fortune 100 Contradictions
- Beauty and Chaos
- Communist China
- Communist Control Cranks Up
- Science Gone Mad
- Contraceptive Causes Tumors
- IVF Expansion Stopped
- Insurance & IVF
- Pro-Life Around the World
- Abortion in Nigeria
- Arrested for Forced Abortion
- Pro-Life on the Home Front
- Abortion Pills Illegally Spread
- The Situation in 2024
- An End to Abortion Trafficking
- Good News
- A Huge Drop
Deepening Depopulation
Shorter Work Weeks: The Tokyo government plans to introduce a four-day workweek for its employees starting in April. This announcement comes as part of the country’s attempt to support young families and boost Japan’s record-low fertility rate. Governor Yuriko Koike announced that employees will have the option to take three days off each week, allowing for better work-life balance. This initiative aims to encourage childbearing, as Japan’s fertility rate has fallen to 1.2 children per woman, far below the 2.1 rate needed for population stability.
Fortune 100 Contradictions: A new report from the Ethics and Public Policy Center revealed the contradictory maternity and family policies of Fortune 100 companies. While many corporations offer parental leave, nearly twice as many companies are willing to pay for abortions, but not child care. Corporations also often fully cover abortion for employees, even if it involves travel expenses, while they only partially assist employees with adoption expenses and maternity leave. Companies like Amazon, Starbucks, and Netflix subsidize abortion, yet only a small percentage offer paid maternity leave. The report also notes that pregnancy discrimination remains a widespread issue, with companies like Walmart and Google facing accusations.
Beauty and Chaos: In this article for Aleteia, Cecilia Pigg reflects on the simultaneous challenge and beauty of raising many young children. While the physical and mental exhaustion of caring for them can be overwhelming, she finds immense joy in their curiosity, innocence, and the way they approach the world with wonder. Watching her children interact with each other—such as siblings fighting one moment and then bonding the next—brings her deep joy. Cecilia’s words emphasize the importance of family, especially of siblings having each other. She notes that while family life can be messy and imperfect, it is filled with grace, love, and forgiveness. She concluded by stating, “Jesus, I trust in You. Thank you for the gifts of these precious, delightful, yet wild and needy tiny people. I entrust our family to You.”
“Get married and have children–lots of them,” says Mr. Mosher. “It will be the most rewarding thing you ever do in life.”
Communist China
Communist Control Cranks Up: On Human Rights Day, Dec. 10, activists told Radio Free Asia that fundamental freedoms in China are increasingly under threat. Most recently, the rights to criticize the government, to follow a religion, and to get a meaningful defense in court have deteriorated. Over the past year, numerous pro-democracy activists and former lawmakers, including 45 from Hong Kong, were imprisoned for “subversion.” The Chinese government has intensified its crackdown on public speech, organized religion, and personal freedoms, with over 1,700 known prisoners of conscience. The authorities have also strengthened control over the internet, cracked down on officials with banned books, and centralized control over universities. Additionally, the government is training religious leaders to prioritize loyalty to the state over their faith under the “sinicization” policy.
Science Gone Mad
Contraceptive Causes Tumors: Pfizer is facing a lawsuit for failing to warn patients that its injectable contraceptive, Depo-Provera, could increase the risk of brain tumors, specifically intracranial meningiomas. The plaintiff of the case claims that regular use of Depo-Provera, which contains a high dose of progestin, led to the development of a brain tumor. This case is part of a growing number of lawsuits against Pfizer, which is facing allegations that it knew or should have known about the risks of brain tumors, cancers, and bone loss associated with the drug, but did not adequately inform patients or doctors. Studies, including a 2024 research publication, show a significant increase in the risk of meningiomas among long-term users of Depo-Provera, but Pfizer has yet to update its U.S. product labels to reflect these dangers, despite warnings in other countries. In a statement regarding the case, Pfizer acknowledged that there are risks associated with the long-term use of its drug, but continues to claim that the drug is “safe and effective.”
IVF Expansion Stopped: The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will not include funding to expand embryo-destructive in vitro fertilization (IVF) for U.S. military members. This decision came after intense negotiations between Democrats and Republicans. In March, the Biden administration’s Department of Veterans Affairs announced it would offer IVF benefits to qualifying veterans, including single individuals, homosexuals, and gender-confused individuals. House Republicans objected at the time, arguing that expanding IVF could cost taxpayers $1 billion per year and that the practice is unregulated and lacks ethical guidelines. The final 1,813-page NDAA represents a compromise, and the IVF expansion proposal was not included.
For more information on the process, risks, and consequences of IVF, read our fact sheet.
Insurance & IVF: A federal judge approved a landmark class action settlement between Aetna and same-sex couples in New York who claimed discrimination in accessing fertility treatments. The settlement, reached in October, requires Aetna to cover artificial insemination for all customers nationally and work towards providing “equal access” to in-vitro fertilization (IVF). This marks the first time homosexual couples previously denied fertility coverage can apply for reimbursement. This case could set the precedent, forcing other insurance companies to pay for immoral fertility treatments for individuals and couples who are homosexual or gender-confused.
Pro-Life Around the World
Abortion in Nigeria: Catholic activists across Africa have joined Nigerian Church leaders in condemning the government’s push to expand access to abortion in the country. Health Ministers Dr. Mukhtar Yawale Muhammad and Dr. Osagie Ehanire are advocating for changes to the Penal Code to increase abortion rights, with support from abortion-promoting NGOs like the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and Ipas. The government claims this is to reduce maternal deaths from unsafe abortions, which account for 20-30% of fatalities in Nigeria. However, Catholic activists, led by CitizenGO Africa, have pushed back against relaxing abortion laws, which will “strip Nigeria of its pro-life identity, prioritizing foreign interests over the lives of Nigerian children.” They accused the ministers of betraying their duty to protect life and called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to dismiss them for aligning with foreign abortion agendas.
“The argument that you can reduce maternal mortality by legalizing abortion is false,” says Mr. Mosher. “Not to mention that those babies who will be aborted suffer from 100 percent mortality. The Western NGOs who are pushing this in Nigeria need to be exposed and defunded to the last penny.”
Arrested for Forced Abortion: A UK man, Stuart Worby, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for spiking a woman’s drink with abortion pills, resulting in the death of her 15-week-old unborn child. The pills, obtained through The Gynae Centre, a major UK abortion provider, were used without the woman’s knowledge or consent. The woman, who wished to keep the baby, suffered physical pain and lost her child the next day. This case has sparked calls for an investigation into The Gynae Centre, with critics linking the crime to the UK’s at-home abortion scheme, which allows abortion pills to be sent without in-person consultations. Many MPs and medical professionals have called for the end of this scheme, citing legitimate safety concerns.
Pro-Life on the Home Front
Abortion Pills Illegally Spread: A new report reveals that nearly two-thirds of abortion facilities are distributing the abortion pill beyond the FDA’s approved limit. The FDA originally approved mifepristone for use only up to seven weeks of pregnancy, but this was extended to 10 weeks in 2016 under the Obama administration. Despite this, 64% of clinics provide abortion pills up to 11-13 weeks, significantly beyond the FDA’s limit. The report, from Operation Rescue, states that complications from these pills, particularly when taken with little medical oversight, have led to maternal deaths, including those of two women in Georgia. Stricter regulations on these deadly drugs are needed to protect both mothers and their unborn children.
The Situation in 2024: Operation Rescue has released a new report on the situation of abortion in America in 2024. The number of operational brick-and-mortar abortion clinics remained relatively stable during 2024, with 29 closing and 46 opening or resuming services. There was a net decrease from 670 in 2023 to 667 in 2024. Many clinics are shifting to virtual pill distribution as they struggle to secure and retain abortionists. Planned Parenthood particularly took advantage of the profitable mail-order chemical abortion trend with its new abortion app, “PP Direct.” In 2024, 14 states are abortion-free, while four more have heartbeat protection laws banning abortion after 6 weeks. Despite the difficulties, pro-life laws continue to protect unborn children and also help stigmatize abortion.
An End to Abortion Trafficking: A federal appeals panel upheld Idaho’s “abortion trafficking” law, which targets adults who help minors obtain an abortion in another state or access abortion-inducing medication. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a previous decision by U.S. Magistrate Judge Debora K. Grasham, who had blocked the law. The law, passed in 2023, was challenged by Idaho attorney Lourdes Matsumoto and two pro-abortion groups, arguing it violated freedom of speech and was too vague. The court ruled the law is enforceable and does not violate First Amendment rights.
Good News
A Huge Drop: Indiana’s “Terminated Pregnancy Report” for July 1 to September 30, 2024, showed a dramatic drop in abortions, with only 41 reported compared to 763 in the previous quarter. This is a 95% decrease from the same period in 2023. This report completes the first full year since the state’s abortion law went into effect following legal challenges, showing an overall 98% decline in abortions, consistent with previous quarterly data. While the loss of 41 children to abortions is still a tragedy, this decrease in overall numbers shows that Indiana’s pro-life laws are saving hundreds of lives.
Quote of the Week
“If we allow ourselves to be loved by God, we realize we have been created, and everything we have has been given to us. In letting ourselves belong to Him, we find the love and fulfillment for which our hearts were made.”
~ Sister Maris Stella
