In This Issue:
- PRI in the Media
- Debunking the Myth
- Deepening Depopulation
- Willing to Pay
- A Lack of Cousins
- Communist China
- Defining Chinese-Americans
- The Question of Children
- Science Gone Mad
- Cancel Culture Strikes
- Pro-Life Around the World
- Defending the Family
- Dutch Couple Dies
- Pro-Life on the Home Front
- EMTALA Explained
- Abuse Amendment
- Good News
- Early Twins
PRI in the Media
Debunking the Myth: This week, PRI President Steven Mosher appeared on the Straight Talk on Life Issues radio program to debunk the myth of overpopulation. Pro-abortion advocates continue to claim that abortion is necessary because the world is facing an “existential crisis of overpopulation.” But this is false. As Mr. Mosher explains, the world is actually facing a crisis of underpopulation. Every continent, except for Sub-Saharan Africa, has below-replacement fertility. The bottom line: These countries are having too few babies to replace the current population.
Deepening Depopulation
Willing to Pay: A company in South Korea has announced its willingness to pay for its employees to have babies. Booyoung Group, a construction company with 2,500 employees, said it will pay its staff 100 million Korean won (or $75,000) for each baby they have while working for the company. This applies to male and female employees alike. The Booyoung Group is the first South Korean company to offer “substantial cash support” to reverse depopulation. If they have a baby, employees at this company would also be able to cash in on government incentives, including 1 million won ($740) a month for a baby’s first year. It remains to be seen whether this move will cause a company-wide baby boom for the Booyoung Group.
A Lack of Cousins: Families are shrinking worldwide. Not only does anecdotal evidence point to this, but a study released this past December confirmed it as well. The kinship study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, used international demographic data for every country in the world. It projected a 38% decrease in living relatives for individuals aged 65 or older by the year 2095. This will change the composition of families as well. Grandparents and great-grandparents are living longer, but there are fewer cousins, nephews, and nieces to go around. In the future, children will grow up with few cousins, if any at all.
“Not only do many American children not have cousins, they do not have brothers or sisters either,” says Mr. Mosher. “In place of siblings, cousins, and playmates they have electronic devices that subtly remodel their brains in unhealthy ways, making it more and more difficult for them to relate to real people. The answer is within ourselves. We have to build a culture that welcomes children.”
Communist China
Defining Chinese-Americans: The Chinese American Museum (CAMDC) in Washington, D.C. has the vocal support of the CCP. In fact, the CCP promotes the museum in its state media. In return, the museum helps spread communist propaganda through its framing of the history of Chinese in America. At every turn, the museum covers up the tyranny of the CCP and the waves of emigration it caused. Events like the massacre at Tiananmen Square are erased entirely. The museum seems to be centered around emphasizing that it matters more to be Chinese than to be American. As journalist Ryan Quinn points out, “It seems designed to undermine our image of America as the welcoming country in which millions of Chinese have made their home.”
“The CCP should not be allowed to open a museum in D.C., any more than it should be allowed to run so-called ‘Confucius Institutes’ in our universities,” says Mr. Mosher. “Both are propaganda operations designed to advance the politics and prospects of communism in general and the CCP in particular. Would the U.S., or U.S. citizens, be allowed to open a museum celebrating America and Americans in the China capital of Beijing? The question answers itself.”
The Question of Children: Despite government incentives, women in China continue to resist having children. To understand why, Business Insider asked three Chinese women their thoughts on the matter. They shared an assortment of reasons for why they are postponing, or not having, children. These reasons included the pain of childbirth, the expense of raising children, and the perceived loss of personal freedom. One of the women interviewed even shared her concerns over Xi’s call for more babies and how far the CCP will go to create a baby boom. “I was scared when I first heard the news because I want my body to be under my control, especially when I don’t want children,” she shared. “I want that choice to be mine.”
Science Gone Mad
Cancel Culture Strikes: During the first week of February, a so-called “impartial” medical journal announced it would be withdrawing three studies that documented the medical injuries that occurred to women who took the abortion pill. Health Services and Managerial Epidemiology was told to withdraw the articles by host Sage Publishing after an abortion activist complained about one of the studies. The “issue” with the three studies was that they were conducted by scientific researchers who work for pro-life organizations. The activist argued that this was a “conflict of interest,” that should have “disqualified their findings.”
Pro-Life Around the World
Defending the Family: This past Monday, Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia delivered a statement during the 62nd Commission For Social Development. This year being the 30th anniversary of the International Year of the Family, Caccia focused on defending the family. He shared his concerns that the family is often downplayed or denigrated today. Caccia emphasized the importance of the family, where all individuals get their first education and social formation. He went on to state, “Social policies must support the family in its essential role in achieving social justice and social development.”
“The family, consisting of a father, mother, and their natural and adopted children, and the extended family, consisting of grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, is essential to human happiness,” says Mr. Mosher. “God intended for us to live in families, which are the basic building block of society and form an essential bulwark against tyranny. China’s Chairman Mao sought to destroy the Chinese family, a project which resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of Chinese.”
Dutch Couple Dies: The media is romanticizing the deaths of former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt and his wife Eugenie, who chose to be euthanized together at age 93. Contrary to what the media says though, death by suicide is not romantic. It is often painful. As Dr. Joel Zivot shared, “People who want to die deserve to know that they may end up drowning, not just falling asleep.” It is motivated by fear, not love. It is also immoral, as suicide involves extinguishing the greatest gift God has given us: Life itself.
Pro-Life on the Home Front
EMTALA Explained: Mainstream media would have you believe that state abortion laws require pregnant women to die in emergency rooms, while federal law allows “emergency abortions.” But these are both incorrect. All states, even those with abortion bans, provide protections for the mother’s life. Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, however, the Biden administration has been relentless in its search for workarounds to the state’s pro-life laws. It has even tried to use pre-existing federal laws to impose abortion on demand. One such federal law was the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). But at its core, EMTALA is a pro-life law, which specifically mentions the “unborn child” and imposes a duty to care for the child as well as the mother. EMTALA does not mandate any medical treatment, especially abortion.
Abuse Amendment: Last week, Illinois Rep. Anne Stava-Murray introduced an amendment to the “Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act” that would include abortion and “gender-affirming care” in the act. If passed, Illinois parents and guardians could be accused of child abuse if they don’t allow minors under their care to get abortions or undergo chemical or surgical transgender treatments. Parents or guardians could be given prison time and fines for trying to protect their children. The amendment would also shield abortionists, surgeons, and other medical professionals from “civil or criminal liability” if they kill preborn babies or remove healthy organs from kids without their parent’s consent. Apparently, this is part of a broader campaign by Illinois Democrats to wipe out all protections for preborn babies, minor children seeking abortions, and women in general.
Good News
Early Twins: A Welsh couple has shared their gratitude for the professionalism of the paramedics who helped care for their premature infants. The mother, Catherine Johnson, went into labor at only 29 weeks gestation. Her twin babies, Aneira and Carreg, were born within an hour of the paramedics’ arrival. They weighed 2 pounds 12 ounces and 3 pounds respectively, and spent eight weeks in the hospital after their early arrival. Thanks to the care of the paramedics and specialists at the hospital, both babies are doing well.
Quote of the Week
“The most precious beings in the world are human beings, made in [God’s] likeness and image, with an eternal soul.”
~ Pro-Life Advocate Chris Slattery, source
May He Rest in Peace
