In This Issue:
- PRI in the Media
- CCP Targets Stanford Student
- Deepening Depopulation
- EU Fertility Hits Record Low
- Italy’s Population Saved by Migration
- Should humans reproduce?
- Communist China
- China Turns to IVF Tech
- Science Gone Mad
- Scientists Sustain Uterus Outside Body
- Pro-Life Around the World
- Bulgaria Records 17,000 Abortions
- New Push to Normalize Abortion Worldwide
- Pro-Life on the Home Front
- Planned Parenthood Funding Restored
- TN Targets Mail-Order Abortions
- Arizona Cracks Down on Abortion Pills
- Americans Back Abortion Pill Safeguards
- U.S. Abortions Continue to Increase
- Good News
- Pope Promotes Prayers for the Unborn
PRI in the Media
CCP Targets Stanford Student: A Stanford student is being stalked and harassed by suspected Chinese Communist Party agents after publishing a two-part series exposing how China pressured Stanford to expel PRI President Steven Mosher in the 1980s. Her articles detailed Mosher’s firsthand reporting on forced abortions and sterilizations under China’s one-child policy—findings that angered Beijing and led to Mr. Mosher’s removal. Her testimony underscores ongoing CCP efforts to silence critics, even on U.S. campuses, through intimidation and transnational repression.
Deepening Depopulation
EU Fertility Hits Record Low: Europe’s fertility collapse continues, with the EU’s total fertility rate falling to just 1.34 children per woman in 2024—down from 1.38 the year before and the lowest level since records began in 2001. Births also declined to 3.55 million, a 3.3% drop from 2023. While Bulgaria (1.72) and France (1.61) posted the highest rates, others lag far behind, with Malta at just 1.01 and Spain at 1.10. This new data showcases a continent-wide demographic crisis driven by shrinking families.
“Europe’s seemingly unstoppable demographic decline continues,” says Mr. Mosher. “Heavily regulated and sluggish economies, crushing tax rates, massive and costly social welfare programs are all contributing factors, leaving young couples reluctant to have children.”
Italy’s Population Saved by Migration: Italy’s population has stopped shrinking after 12 years, but only due to mass migration and not a rebound in births. New data shows the population held steady at 58.94 million, with net immigration of 296,000 offsetting a natural decline of nearly 300,000. Births fell to a record low of 355,000 in 2025, while fertility dropped to just 1.14 children per woman. Officials warn that without continued immigration,; population decline will resume.
Should humans reproduce?: A new commentary challenges the long-standing Malthusian claim that population growth leads to scarcity, famine, and war, arguing instead that history proves the opposite. Since 1800, the global population has grown from 1 billion to over 8 billion; yet living standards, health, and food production have all improved. Rather than a threat, human life and growth are a blessing, not a burden.
“The first commandment given to our first parents, Adam and Eve, has never been rescinded,” says Mr. Mosher. “So the message to young couples is, ‘Be Fruitful and Multiply.’ There is plenty of room on God’s green earth for all of us.”
Communist China
China Turns to IVF Tech: China’s collapsing birthrate is fueling a surge in IVF, and the booming biotech industry built around it. Hangzhou Diagens Biotechnology raised $101 million in a Hong Kong IPO, promoting AI-powered chromosome testing that cuts wait times from 30 days to a week or less. Despite reporting a 36.6 million yuan ($5.2 million) loss, the company still sees “enormous growth potential” as more couples delay marriage and turn to IVF. China recorded just 7.92 million births in 2025—a 17% drop—underscoring a deepening demographic crisis increasingly addressed through unethical and artificial reproduction methods.
Science Gone Mad
Scientists Sustain Uterus Outside Body: Scientists in Spain have kept a human uterus alive outside the body for 24 hours using a machine that pumps oxygenated blood through the organ—an experiment they want to extend to 28 days. Researchers say the technology could advance IVF and even one day support full gestation outside the human body. While framed as medical progress, the development raises serious ethical concerns, further separating reproduction from the natural family and advancing artificial methods that undermine the dignity of human life.
Pro-Life Around the World
Bulgaria Records 17,000 Abortions: Bulgaria reported over 17,000 abortions in 2025, including alarming numbers among minors. Official data show 92 abortions were performed on girls under 15, with only 39 of them being voluntary. While nearly 1,600 abortions occurred among teens aged 15 to 19, including 935 by request of the pregnant mother. The majority took place among women in their 20s and 30s.
New Push to Normalize Abortion Worldwide: A new report from the abortion advocacy group Ipas claims that “stigma” is the main barrier to abortion worldwide, arguing it must be “dismantled” to expand access. Drawing on 18 years of research, the group promotes strategies like normalizing abortion through community outreach and targeting youth. The premise underscores how far the movement has shifted: reframing moral concerns as obstacles to overcome, while ignoring the ethical reality that abortion ends an unborn human life.
“I can’t tell you how disgusting I find this,” says Mr. Mosher, “The natural human revulsion at killing an innocent unborn child is mischaracterized as ‘abortion stigma.’ Why not just go whole woke and call it abortionphobia. George Orwell would be proud.”
“A very sick push to lovingly accept murder,” says PRI team member Samantha Lejeune. “And if you don’t, you are the evil one.”
Pro-Life on the Home Front
Planned Parenthood Funding Restored: Months after pledging a pro-life agenda, the Trump administration released Title X funding to Planned Parenthood after losing a legal challenge. The decision follows a failed 2025 attempt to block funds originally allocated under the Biden administration, with officials citing “significant legal challenges.” Congress ultimately preserved the $286 million Title X program in the latest funding bill. While the funds cannot directly pay for abortions, they still subsidize Planned Parenthood and indirectly support the abortion industry.
“I believe that President Trump, the most pro-life president in American history, is determined to reinstate the same Protect Life Rule that he did in his first term,” says Mr. Mosher. “What makes this challenging is that the Biden administration laid as many legal land mines as they could before leaving office, counting on the activist judges that he appointed to hamstring Trump during his second term. Planned Parenthood will be defunded. Wait and see.”
TN Targets Mail-Order Abortions: Tennessee lawmakers have passed legislation targeting the mailing of abortion pills, allowing civil lawsuits of at least $1 million when the drugs result in the death of an unborn child. The bill comes as abortions in the state have surged nearly 30%, rising from over 5,800 in 2024 to more than 7,500 in 2025—largely driven by mail-order pills. The measure is needed to deter out-of-state providers operating under shield laws and to better enforce existing protections for unborn life.
“Tennesse is strengthening its already robust pro-life laws,” says Mr. Mosher. “Those who illegally send abortion pills into the state are already committing a felony under state law. Now a new law will allow those prescribing the pill to be sued if, as often happens, an injury or death results. Other states should follow suit.”
Arizona Cracks Down on Abortion Pills: Arizona lawmakers are advancing legislation to crack down on the mailing of abortion drugs, proposing felony penalties for those who ship or distribute them. The bill would make sending abortion pills a class five felony, with repeat offenses carrying up to eight years in prison. The move comes as abortion drugs—now accounting for roughly two-thirds of U.S. abortions—have increased over 25% in the past year, largely driven by mail-order access into pro-life states. Similar efforts are underway in Texas, West Virginia, and Florida.
Americans Back Abortion Pill Safeguards: A growing majority of Americans support reinstating safeguards on abortion pills, with 67% favoring a return to in-person doctor visits before obtaining the drugs. Support spans political lines, including 63% of Democrats and 68% of independents. Additional polling found 70% want the FDA to require in-person evaluations before and after a chemical abortion. Nearly half (49%) say they are less likely to support lawmakers who back mail-order abortion without medical oversight. The rise of abortion pills—now driving tens of thousands of abortions—continues to undermine state protections and raise serious safety concerns.
U.S. Abortions Continue to Increase: U.S. abortion numbers remain high despite state-level bans, driven by a growing shift to telehealth and mail-order abortion pills. A new report found abortions rose slightly from 1.124 million to 1.126 million last year, while interstate travel declined—from 170,000 in 2023 to 142,000 in 2025. Shield laws in pro-abortion states are enabling providers to bypass restrictions and expand access nationwide. These findings highlight how abortion advocates are increasingly using mail-order pills to undermine pro-life protections.
Good News
Pope Promotes Prayers for the Unborn: Pope Leo XIV has endorsed the “spiritual adoption of the unborn,” a pro-life initiative encouraging individuals to pray daily for an unborn child at risk of being aborted. Reviving a movement popularized by Venerable Fulton Sheen, participants commit to a short prayer over nine months—symbolizing the length of pregnancy. Praising the effort on the Feast of the Annunciation, the Pope stressed the need to “defend life from conception until its natural end,” especially in a world increasingly marked by conflict and disregard for human life.
Quote of the Week
“We become childlike in the face of the unique and unrepeatable wonder of new life, which reawakens in each of us the joy of simply being alive. Each newborn is a promise from God that the universe will continue.”
~ PRI President Steven Mosher
