In This Issue:
- PRI in the Media
- Africa’s Fight for Family
- Deepening Depopulation
- Two-Child Policy Ends
- No Rush for More Babies
- Birth Rates Fall Post-Vaccine
- Britain Needs More Babies
- Communist China
- China’s Sex Trade Surge
- Communism Rebranded as Tradition
- Science Gone Mad
- IVF Rebranded
- Pro-Life Around the World
- Euthanasia Fight Hits Malta
- Scotland Sets Abortion Record
- Chile Pushes Abortion Bill
- Pro-Life on the Home Front
- Myth of Abortion Pill Safety Crumbles
- Court Rebukes Planned Parenthood
- Abortions Miscoded
- Good News
- Life Wins in Vermont
PRI in the Media
Africa’s Fight for Family: Baptist News Global highlighted PRI’s key role in supporting traditional family values in Africa, as African leaders face international pressure from the West to accept progressive reforms. The West has targeted the traditional family in Africa for years, pressuring Africans to support abortion and the redefinition of the family. In Kenya, PRI has backed the Family Protection Bill, which seeks to uphold pro-family and pro-life values. Alongside other U.S. groups, PRI collaborates with African lawmakers and local organizations to promote these values as part of a broader movement that has funded over $50 million to Africa since 2008 to protect Africa’s traditional family culture from those who threaten it.
Deepening Depopulation
Two-Child Policy Ends: Vietnam has officially ended its long-standing two-child policy as the nation faces the consequences of government-enforced population control. Originally introduced in the 1960s in Northern Vietnam to prevent so-called “overpopulation” and later expanded nationwide, the policy was formalized in 1993 to promote a “golden population.” However, recent statistics show a steady decline in fertility rates, particularly in urban areas, with the national average dropping to 1.91 children per woman in 2024. The proportion of citizens under 15 has significantly decreased, while the working-age population has grown, prompting concerns about future demographic imbalances. Facing a potential depopulation crisis, Vietnam has now reversed course and started encouraging family growth.
“We at PRI celebrate that another coercive population control policy has come to an end,” says PRI’s Chiara McKenna. “Yet, this news is tempered by the fact that even with a two-child policy in parts of Vietnam since the 1960s, today Vietnam has a higher fertility rate than the United States. This reinforces that culture can have a greater impact than government policy. The U.S. has never had a nationwide population control policy, yet our culture has been so poisoned with overpopulation propaganda that the general public has embraced self-enforced population control, driving our fertility rate down.”
No Rush for More Babies: Despite increasing concern among policymakers and scholars about declining fertility rates, broad public support for pronatalist policies remains modest. A recent article from the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) highlights findings from a survey indicating that only 33% of Americans favor government incentives to encourage childbearing. Less than 10% report being “very” worried about declining birth rates. The IFS recently launched its Pronatalism Initiative, which aims to advance research and propose policies that make it easier for families to have children. IFS researchers emphasize that while pronatalism is not yet widely popular, there remains significant room to grow support through education and policy development.
Birth Rates Fall Post-Vaccine: A recent study based on Czech national health data, revealed substantially lower conception rates among vaccinated women between the ages of 18–39, compared to their unvaccinated peers. The analysis, led by Danish researcher Dr. Vibeke Manniche, found that between 2021 and 2022, unvaccinated women were considerably more likely to conceive a child. The study draws on comprehensive data from the Institute of Health Information which suggests that the observed birth decline persisted well beyond the immediate post-vaccine period, raising concerns about possible long-term effects.
“It turns out that the COVID-19 vaccines are almost as ‘effective’ as the abortion pill in ending the lives of unborn children,” says PRI President Steven Mosher. “The study, based on official statistics out of the Czech Republic, shows that women who were vaccinated had far, far lower rates of ‘successful conceptions’ than women who were not vaccinated. It’s looking more and more like both the Covid plague and the follow-up mRNA vaccine were a one-two punch intended to reduce global population. Those who promoted the vaccine surely knew of its devastating effect on fertility and forced it upon the frightened populace anyway.”
Britain Needs More Babies: Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has announced a series of pronatalist proposals aimed at reversing the UK’s falling birth rate, which is now at a record low of 1.44 children per woman. Citing national demographic concerns, Farage is calling for the removal of the two-child benefit cap and introducing a transferable marriage tax allowance. Farage emphasized the importance of restoring traditional family values and reducing reliance on immigration to offset population decline. He maintained that supporting stable families is essential to the nation’s long-term economic and social stability.
Communist China
China’s Sex Trade Surge: A recent report from The Diplomat exposed a deepening human rights emergency in China as the country faces a surge in human trafficking tied to its expanding sex industry. Vulnerable women are being exploited regularly. This crisis emerged from a severe gender imbalance stemming from decades of the one-child policy and centuries of a cultural preference for sons. By 2030, an estimated 25% of Chinese men in their late 30s will remain unmarried, driving demand for trafficked brides and sex workers from within China and neighboring countries.
“Communism is a form of slavery for those who live under it,” says Mr. Mosher. “It degrades people and cultures to the point where they place zero value on human life. China has long had a massive human trafficking problem in which young women from within China, or from neighboring countries, are bought and sold into sexual servitude. But with China’s economy in crisis, the problem has recently gotten much, much worse.”
Communism Rebranded as Tradition: In yet another attack on religious freedom, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is now training and pressuring religious leaders to promote Communist ideology under the guise of “Chinese traditional culture.” The CCP has launched a sweeping campaign to infiltrate places of worship—Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, and others—turning pastors and monks into mouthpieces for state propaganda. Clergy are instructed to preach socialist values, glorify Party history, and celebrate Marxist revolutionaries. In a country already suffocating religious expression with surveillance and persecution, this latest move seeks to hollow out faith itself and replace it with Party worship.
Science Gone Mad
IVF Rebranded: A Manhattan fertility clinic, New Hope, is on a mission to normalize and expand access to IVF, pitching a “smarter” and “more accessible” path to parenthood through a tech-driven, at-home IVF option. This approach comes with virtual consultations, app tracking, and hormone delivery by mail. New Hope’s signature “Mini IVF” uses lower hormone doses, aiming to attract women who want fewer side effects or have “busy schedules.” But beneath the talk of convenience and personalization lies a growing trend: the commodification of human life and the continued detachment of childbearing from the natural family. While this process can lead to successful pregnancies, it typically results in the creation of many embryos, which are frozen indefinitely, discarded, or used for research purposes.
Read more on the harsh truths about IVF here.
Pro-Life Around the World
Euthanasia Fight Hits Malta: As Malta faces growing political pressure to legalize euthanasia, Hospice Malta is taking a stand for life with the nation’s leading end-of-life care provider rejecting the push for euthanasia. The debate was reignited after Prime Minister Robert Abela signaled openness to legalizing euthanasia—despite Malta’s strong Catholic identity and pro-life tradition. Hospice Malta warns that introducing legal killing undermines the fundamental principle that every human life, even in suffering, has value and dignity. To aid the dying, Hospice Malta calls for better investment in pain management, support, and love at life’s natural end. In an age of utilitarian medicine, Hospice Malta is drawing a moral line: We care for the dying—we do not kill them.
Scotland Sets Abortion Record: New government data from Scotland revealed a grim milestone: the highest number of abortions ever recorded in the nation’s history. In 2024 alone, 18,710 children were aborted—a tragic 3% increase from the year before. Even more disturbing is the surge in abortions targeting children with Down syndrome. These selective terminations rose by 15% in just one year and have skyrocketed 82% since 2021. The message is chillingly clear: children with disabilities are being screened out of existence. Nearly 41% of all abortions were repeat procedures, and abortions between 18 and 20 weeks are on the rise.
Chile Pushes Abortion Bill: In a disturbing break from Chile’s pro-life heritage, President Gabriel Boric’s socialist administration has introduced a bill to legalize abortion up to 14 weeks. The proposed law would strip away existing safeguards that currently limit abortion to cases of rape, fetal anomaly, or danger to the mother’s life. Christian coalitions across Chile have urged the government to address the country’s real crises—like collapsing birthrates and public insecurity—instead of pushing abortion as a political agenda. Chile once stood as a beacon of life in Latin America. If this bill passes, it would align the country more closely with radical Western abortion regimes—and turn its back on the unborn. The fight for life in Chile is far from over.
Pro-Life on the Home Front
Myth of Abortion Pill Safety Crumbles: A new peer-reviewed study from the Charlotte Lozier Institute dismantled the abortion industry’s claim that chemical abortion is “safer than Tylenol.” The study showcased that the comparison between the two drugs is impossible to validate and that there was never a controlled study done that compared the two. Not only is their claim scientifically unsupported, but it also ignores the severe side effects of abortion pills—such as hemorrhaging and sepsis. Pro-life groups are urging the government to initiate a full investigation of any “cover-ups” made by the abortion giants to conceal the dangers of their products. As abortion advocates continue to push chemical abortion as a safe and convenient option, this study exposes the grim reality: it is not just the babies who are suffering and dying, but often their mothers too.
Court Rebukes Planned Parenthood: In a significant legal development, a state Supreme Court ruling has cast a spotlight on Planned Parenthood. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey recently asserted that the organization is operating “more like a criminal enterprise than any kind of legitimate health care entity.” This statement followed Planned Parenthood’s legal challenge to Amendment 3, a pro-life measure aimed at protecting unborn children and ensuring informed consent for women considering abortion. Despite the amendment’s passage, Planned Parenthood contested its provisions, particularly the requirement for ultrasounds before abortion procedures. The Missouri Supreme Court ruling is a step towards holding Planned Parenthood accountable and reaffirming the importance of safeguarding both unborn children and their mothers.
Abortions Miscoded: A recent article from The Federalist analyzed a study by the Charlotte Lozier Institute which revealed that 83.5% of emergency room visits following chemical abortions were misclassified as miscarriages. Showcasing nearly 29,000 anonymized ER Medicaid claims from 2016 to 2021, researchers found that this misclassification often stems from women concealing their abortion history, leading to potential delays in appropriate care. The study also notes that these misclassified cases were 50% more likely to involve severe complications. Organizations like Planned Parenthood and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have been cited for advising minimal disclosure about abortion history, which contributes to these misclassifications.
Good News
Life Wins in Vermont: In a quiet but critical victory for life and liberty, Vermont has scaled back a 2023 law that directly targeted pro-life pregnancy centers—after facing fierce legal pressure and mounting public scrutiny. The original law allowed the state to fine these life-affirming centers up to $10,000 for so-called “misleading” advertising because they don’t offer or refer to abortion. But after legal challenges from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), lawmakers caved. The amendment marks a key retreat by abortion activists who had hoped to silence pro-life voices under the guise of consumer protection. As a result of this victory, Vermont’s pregnancy centers can continue to offer women pregnancy care for themselves and their babies—without fear of government reprisal.
Quote of the Week
“It is the responsibility of government leaders to work to build harmonious and peaceful civil societies. This can be achieved above all by investing in the family, founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman, ‘a small but genuine society, and prior to all civil society.’ ”
~ Pope Leo XIV
