In This Issue:
- PRI in the Media
- Our Apostle of Life
- UNFPA Defunded
- Population Control for Kids
- Deepening Depopulation
- Decades of Adoption Fraud
- Kids Help Your Brain
- Children Boost Happiness
- Catholic Population Increases
- Communist China
- Tianmen’s Fertility Secret
- National Policy Incoming
- Pro-Life Around the World
- A Message for Canada
- Pro-Life on the Home Front
- First Cut to Planned Parenthood
- More Money for Abortion
- Planned Parenthood Revealed
- Good News
- Protect Pregnancy Centers
PRI in the Media
Our Apostle of Life: This past week, March 20, marked 15 years since the passing of our founder, Fr. Paul Marx, the Apostle of Life. Fr. Marx was a tireless champion for the sanctity of life, dedicating his life to the pro-life cause with unwavering commitment. Over his remarkable journey, he traveled more than three million miles, visiting all 50 states and 91 countries to advocate for the unborn, earning him the title of “Public Enemy #1” from Planned Parenthood. Despite facing intense opposition, Fr. Marx’s work was recognized by influential figures, including a personal letter from President Ronald Reagan, praising his efforts to inspire nations to reflect on the value of human life. Fr. Marx founded Human Life International and the Population Research Institute, as well as authored numerous books and articles to spread the pro-life message. In 1979, Fr. Marx was told by then-Pope John Paul II, “You have lots of experience. You must bring this pro-life, pro-family movement all over the earth; and if you do that, you will be doing the most important work on earth.”
“I owe a great debt to Father Paul Marx, the Apostle of Life,” says PRI President Steven Mosher. “He played an important role in my conversion to Catholicism, he taught me and my wife NFP (which is why we have nine children), and he founded the Population Research Institute and asked me to be its first president. He then served as the Chairman of PRI’s Board of Directors for the last ten years of his life. So in all three areas–faith, family, and vocation–I regard him as a mentor and an inspiration.”
UNFPA Defunded: The Trump administration has officially defunded the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) once again. On February 27, the UN agency announced that 48 of its grants with USAID and the US State Department had been terminated. The UNFPA has long been known for pushing population control, including abortion and sterilization, around the world. It was famously involved in bringing the “one-child policy” to China in 1979, which PRI President Steven Mosher blew the whistle on. Over the decades, PRI has continued to expose the UNFPA’s relentless push for population control around the world.
Population Control for Kids: In 1990, a television show called “Captain Planet and the Planeteers” was rolled out to indoctrinate American children. “Captain Planet” was created to advance the environmentalist agenda, with episodes specifically tailored to push the myth of overpopulation. The influence of media messages such as these can be seen today in fertility rates below replacement around the world, including in the United States. To address the myth of overpopulation, which continues to be pushed to this day, PRI collaborated with Live Action to create “The Pro-Life Reply to: ‘Abortion Will Stop Overpopulation’” a few years ago.
For more information on the myth of overpopulation, visit this page.
Deepening Depopulation
Decades of Adoption Fraud: South Korea is facing a major reckoning following a groundbreaking investigation revealing the country’s role in fraudulent and abusive practices related to its foreign adoption program. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that the government facilitated the adoption of children abroad by falsifying birth records, falsely labeling children as orphans, and failing to properly screen prospective parents. Over 200,000 South Korean children were sent overseas for adoption between 1953 and 1999. Many of them were subjected to human rights violations, including being sent abroad without the consent of their families or under false pretenses. The adoption system, which peaked in the 1970s and ‘80s, operated with minimal oversight, driven by profit motives, as adoption agencies became legal guardians of children, often sending them abroad with little regard for their welfare. While South Korea has since tightened its adoption laws, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s findings reveal a history of failures and violations that have deeply affected adoptees, prompting further investigation into hundreds of complaints from around the world.
Kids Help Your Brain: A study of over 37,000 adults has found that parenting has a positive effect on brain health, helping to keep the brain fit as it ages. The research, led by cognitive neuroscientist Edwina Orchard at Yale University, revealed that for every child a couple has, both mothers and fathers experienced enhanced brain connectivity, particularly in areas of the central nervous system linked to movement and sensation. This is contrary to the usual decline in brain function observed in middle and late life. The study, which is the largest of its kind and the first to show such effects in fathers beyond early parenthood, suggests that despite the challenges and stresses of raising children, the cognitive stimulation, physical activity, and social interaction involved in parenting offer long-term brain benefits.
Children Boost Happiness: A new analysis of the 2021 American Time Use Survey (ATUS) by the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) highlights that many parents find everyday activities more enjoyable when their children are present. The study, which examined U.S. adults’ well-being ratings for various tasks, found that activities involving children generally scored higher on measures of happiness and meaningfulness. For example, 56% of time spent with children was rated as highly meaningful, compared to just 37% of time spent with other adults. Additionally, parents were more likely to rate time spent with their children as happier (44%) than time spent with others (25%), and activities with kids also tended to have lower ratings for pain, sadness, and stress. This reinforces previous IFS research showing that, despite the challenges of parenting, raising children is associated with greater life meaning and satisfaction.
Catholic Population Increases: The Vatican Publishing House has released the Pontifical Yearbook 2025 and the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2023, providing data on the Catholic Church’s global presence in 2024. The report reveals that the global Catholic population grew by 1.15% from 2022 to 2023, reaching approximately 1.406 billion. The distribution of baptized Catholics varies by region, with Africa accounting for 20% of the total global Catholic population. Africa saw a significant rise, with the Catholic population growing from 272 million in 2022 to 281 million in 2023. The Democratic Republic of Congo leads in the number of baptized Catholics, followed by Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, which also show strong Catholic populations.
Communist China
Tianmen’s Fertility Secret: Chinese state media has claimed that the nation can spend its way out of the current demographic crisis, citing the case of Tianmen as proof. With a population of 1 million, Tianmen saw a 17% increase in its birth rate last year, the first rise in eight years and well above the national average of 5.8%. The city’s success is attributed to generous subsidies for families with second or third children, with parents potentially receiving up to $39,616 for a second child and $49,107 for a third, though most receive smaller amounts. Over 100 officials from across China have visited Tianmen to learn its “fertility secret,” as the government seeks to replicate its model nationwide in an effort to reverse the country’s declining population.
“Tens of millions of women are missing from China’s population because of the sex-selection abortion of baby girls,” says Mr. Mosher. “Nearly all of China’s women of reproductive age–like the women in the story–would have to have three children to offset China’s accelerating population decline. Add to that the fact that China’s economy is on the rocks, and the government simply cannot afford to bribe young couples into having children in the numbers required. The one-child policy instituted by the Chinese Communist Party in 1980 has doomed China to decline.”
National Policy Incoming: China is preparing to implement a national policy to address its declining fertility rate, with a focus on childcare subsidies among its top priorities for boosting consumption. The policy framework, which emphasizes strengthening support for childbirth and child-rearing, aims to provide financial relief for parents and encourage discretionary spending. The National Health Commission is already drafting a plan to subsidize child care, with a potential 100 billion yuan ($13.84 billion) fund for subsidies expected later this year. The plan could provide monthly handouts of around 800 yuan to parents, with half the money allocated as vouchers for baby products to prevent households from saving the money. Despite a slight increase in births last year, China’s fertility rate remains critically low, having dropped from 1.8 in 2012 to 1.2 in 2022, though these figures are likely to be even lower than officially reported.
Pro-Life Around the World
A Message for Canada: Canadian pro-life advocate Angelina Ireland has warned LifeSiteNews that Canada has no future if it continues to push abortion and euthanasia. Ireland, who serves as the Executive Director of the Delta Hospice Society, expressed deep concern about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia policies, which have become so entrenched that reversing them may be nearly impossible for any future government. She highlighted the power Trudeau’s Liberal government holds over citizens’ lives through the euthanasia program, “Medical Assistance in Dying” (MAiD), and warned that this power could extend to children. Ireland was emphatic that becoming pro-life must be Canada’s future, as the country’s low fertility rates and harmful ideologies threaten its survival.
“Canadian fertility rates are so low that Canadians are almost sterile,” Ireland said. “We must encourage women and men to have children to populate our nation. We must protect citizens so they can be born. We must protect our children from harmful ideologies that will render them unable to procreate.”
Pro-Life on the Home Front
First Cut to Planned Parenthood: Planned Parenthood faces the potential loss of part of its federal funding, not due to its mass murder of the unborn, but because of concerns that taxpayer dollars may have been used to fund Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The Trump administration plans to freeze a number of family planning grants, including Planned Parenthood’s. The abortion giant’s president, Alexis McGill Johnson, claims the freeze will “end people’s access to birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and more.” However, these services take up a fraction of the organization’s attention, with abortion being the real focus. According to Dr. Michael New from Catholic University of America, Planned Parenthood has seen a dramatic 75.6% increase in abortions over the past 20 years, while prenatal services have sharply declined by more than 60%.
“Any cuts of Planned Parenthood’s federal funding will save babies,” says Mr. Mosher. “But the Trump administration needs to go farther and axe all funding to the abortion giant. We will continue to press the administration to do just this.”
More Money for Abortion: Planned Parenthood’s New York chapter has cried poverty. Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) is allegedly facing a financial crisis due to Medicaid underfunding. PPGNY has requested a $2.5 million expansion from the New York City Council, including $1.25 million for the Sexual and Reproductive Health Initiative and another $1.25 million through Speakers’ List Funding. This request, presented at a City Council hearing on March 24, is part of a broader effort to secure further financing for its deadly mission, including increased grant funding in the New York State budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
Planned Parenthood Revealed: The American Life League has released its 2025 Report on Planned Parenthood CEO Compensation. Despite being designated as 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its 49 affiliates pay no taxes while consistently bringing in millions in income each year. The latest annual report shows that Planned Parenthood received $699.3 million in federal funding, making up 34% of its total revenue. In 2023, CEO Alexis McGill Johnson earned a staggering $904,014, a 32% increase from her 2021 salary of $683,697. This is significantly higher than the average nonprofit CEO salary, which is around $117,000. Planned Parenthood CEOs, with an average salary of $352,661, rank in the 98th percentile of U.S. wage earners. Additionally, Planned Parenthood received nearly $2,000 in federal funds for every abortion it reported in the 2022-2023 year, highlighting exactly how lucrative killing innocent unborn children is.
Good News
Protect Pregnancy Centers: Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, alongside Congressman Chris Smith and Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach, has introduced the Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act to safeguard access to essential prenatal services provided by pregnancy care centers. This legislation aims to prevent discrimination against these centers due to their pro-life mission and grants them the ability to take legal action if they face such discrimination. Rep. Tenney, a staunch advocate for the pro-life movement, has earned recognition for her efforts to protect life, including an A+ rating from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. Her previous legislative efforts, like the Pregnancy Resource Center Defense Act and the Unborn Child Support Act, also aim to protect pro-life centers and support mothers and their unborn children.
“Liberal states and the former Biden administration attempted to unconstitutionally restrict TANF funds from supporting pro-life pregnancy centers, hindering their ability to assist pregnant mothers and their unborn babies. The Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act ensures pregnancy resource centers and pro-life centers are not discriminated against and are able to carry out their mission, including providing emotional support, access to prenatal and pregnancy care, and supplies to expecting mothers. We must ensure women have access to the resources pregnancy centers provide, empowering them to choose life,” said Congresswoman Tenney.
Quote of the Week
“You have lots of experience. You must bring this pro-life, pro-family movement all over the earth; and if you do that, you will be doing the most important work on earth.”
~ Pope John Paul II to Fr. Paul Marx (Founder of PRI)
