In This Issue:
- Deepening Depopulation
- America is “Under-Babied”
- Korean Groups Push Family Policies
- Communist China
- China Marriages Hit Decade Low
- CCP Trains Clergy in Xi Jinping Thought
- Science Gone Mad
- Trump Pushes Expanded IVF Coverage
- Pro-Life Around the World
- Ireland Pushes to End Abortion Wait
- Alberta Passes MAiD Safeguards
- Pastor Convicted for Preaching Near Clinic
- Pro-Life on the Home Front
- Supreme Court Extends Abortion Pill Access
- Republicans Push Abortion Pill Safeguards
- FDA Commissioner’s Exit Praised
- Bishops Back Planned Parenthood Defunding
- Good News
- White House Unveils Moms.gov
- PRI Research & Resources
- In Vitro Fertilization
Deepening Depopulation
America is “Under-Babied”: Dr. Mehmet Oz has warned that America is facing a fertility crisis. According to Oz, “one in three Americans are under-babied,” meaning they have fewer children than they desire. Speaking at a White House event launching a new government website for expectant mothers, Oz noted the U.S. fertility rate has fallen below 1.5 children per woman. He also highlighted that maternal mortality rates in rural America are roughly 30% higher than in urban areas, while RFK Jr. echoed concerns about the nation’s declining birthrate.
“There is a lot of frustrated fertility in the U.S.,” says Mr. Mosher. “Couples who would like to have more children but are having difficulty conceiving. The MOMS Act will help solve some of these difficulties (although the inclusion of IVF is deeply regrettable). Still, there is much more to be done, including Making Birth Free.”
Korean Groups Push Family Policies: More than 170 South Korean civic groups are calling for a major shift in the country’s response to its low birth rate crisis, arguing that stronger family values—not just government subsidies—are needed to encourage marriage and childbearing. At a recent forum in Seoul, organizers noted that South Korea has already spent 380 trillion won ($273 billion) on low fertility and aging policies with little success. Experts warned that financial aid alone cannot solve the crisis, pointing instead to rising childcare burdens and growing social uncertainty.
Communist China
China Marriages Hit Decade Low: China’s marriage rate has fallen to its lowest level in nearly a decade, contributing to the country’s demographic crisis. Official data show marriage registrations dropped 6.2% in the first quarter of 2026 to just 1.697 million—roughly half the level seen in 2017. Meanwhile, China’s population declined for a fourth consecutive year in 2025, with births falling to a record low of 7.92 million. In response, Beijing is expanding subsidies, childcare support, and “childbirth friendly” policies in an effort to reverse the nation’s population decline.
CCP Trains Clergy in Xi Jinping Thought: Nearly 50 representatives from China’s state-controlled Catholic Church gathered in Beijing last month for a national “Sinicization of Catholicism” training session focused not on Scripture or Vatican teaching, but on studying Xi Jinping Thought and Communist Party directives. Participants were instructed to align Catholic teaching with “socialist core values” and promote loyalty to the CCP. The program reveals how the Chinese regime continues trying to reshape Catholicism into a tool of state propaganda.
Science Gone Mad
Trump Pushes Expanded IVF Coverage: The Trump administration has proposed a new federal rule that would make IVF and other fertility treatments more widely available through employer-sponsored benefit plans. Under the proposal, companies could offer stand-alone fertility coverage with lifetime caps of up to $120,000 per employee. While federal support of boosting fertility is appreciated, this expansion of IVF raises serious ethical concerns, as the process involves the freezing, discarding, and destruction of human embryos.
Pro-Life Around the World
Ireland Pushes to End Abortion Wait: Ireland’s Sinn Féin party has introduced legislation to eliminate the country’s mandatory three-day abortion waiting period, just days after hundreds gathered at Dublin’s March for Life rally opposing further abortion expansion. Current law allows abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy after a three-day delay between medical consultations. A similar bill was introduced last month by the Social Democrats, signaling a coordinated push from left-wing parties to dismantle one of the few remaining safeguards included after Ireland repealed the Eighth Amendment in 2018 by a 66.4% to 33.6% vote.
Alberta Passes MAiD Safeguards: Alberta has passed new legislation adding safeguards to Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAiD) program, limiting eligibility to adults expected to die within 12 months and restricting access when mental illness is the sole condition. Evangelical leaders praised the move as a start to protecting vulnerable patients and promoting life-affirming care. Since MAiD was legalized in 2016, roughly 76,000 Canadians have died through assisted suicide, including 5% of all deaths in Canada in 2024.
Pastor Convicted for Preaching Near Clinic: A 78-year-old retired pastor in Northern Ireland has been convicted and fined £450 ($614) for preaching and reading Scripture near an abortion facility inside a government-designated “safe access zone.” Under Northern Ireland’s abortion censorship law, speech deemed capable of “influencing” someone within 100 meters (328 feet) of an abortion clinic is prohibited. The case represents a growing crackdown on free speech and religious expression, as pro-life Christians in the U.K. increasingly face penalties for praying or preaching near abortion centers.
“The birthplace of free speech—Great Britain—is moving aggressively to censor speech it doesn’t like,” says Mr. Mosher. “We in America should be grateful that we have a Bill of Rights that guarantees freedom of speech, and a Trump administration that is determined to defend that right. And we must use that freedom, both in private and in public, to defend the right to life of the innocent unborn.”
Pro-Life on the Home Front
Supreme Court Extends Abortion Pill Access: The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily allowed abortion pills to continue being prescribed online and sent through the mail while it reviews a major legal challenge to the FDA’s abortion pill policies. Justice Samuel Alito extended the current rules for at least three more days after a lower court ruling attempted to restore pre-pandemic safeguards requiring women to see a doctor in person before receiving mifepristone. Today, abortion pills account for most abortions in America, with roughly one quarter obtained through telemedicine, despite growing concerns over women’s safety and lack of medical oversight.
Republicans Push Abortion Pill Safeguards: Last week, Rep. Chris Smith, Sen. Bill Cassidy, Speaker Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune joined 109 other Republican lawmakers in filing an amicus brief supporting Louisiana’s effort to restore in-person dispensing requirements for the abortion pill mifepristone in the case Danco v. Louisiana. The lawmakers argued that the Biden administration removed key FDA safety protections in 2023 by allowing the abortion pill to be prescribed online and distributed through the mail.
“The Biden FDA’s decision was incredibly reckless,” says Mr. Mosher. “Millions of babies are dying, and hundreds of thousands of young women are being injured by this poison pill. Eleven percent of the women who take it come down with sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious medical condition within days or weeks. The Supreme Court should uphold the Louisiana law.”
FDA Commissioner’s Exit Praised: Pro-life leaders have welcomed the resignation of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, criticizing his failure to restore safety restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone during his tenure. Attention has now turned to acting commissioner Kyle Diamantas, whose past legal work involving a Planned Parenthood affiliate has alarmed pro-life groups. Pro-life advocates are now urging the Trump administration to reinstate in-person abortion pill dispensing requirements and strengthen protections for women and unborn children.
Bishops Back Planned Parenthood Defunding: As a temporary federal provision defunding abortion providers nears its July 4 expiration date, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is backing new legislation that would permanently block Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from receiving federal Title X family-planning funds. Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, chair of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, noted that Planned Parenthood performs hundreds of thousands of abortions each year while continuing to receive millions in taxpayer dollars. Pro-life groups are urging Congress to renew and strengthen restrictions on federal abortion funding.
Good News
White House Unveils Moms.gov: The Trump administration launched Moms.gov on Mother’s Day; a new website aimed at supporting pregnant women and young families with resources on pregnancy, breastfeeding, adoption, nutrition and mental health. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the initiative is designed to promote healthier pregnancies and strengthen American families.
PRI Research & Resources
In Vitro Fertilization: This week, we highlight PRI’s fact sheet on in vitro fertilization (IVF), a rapidly expanding reproductive technology that raises serious medical and ethical concerns. IVF involves creating multiple human embryos in a lab, many of whom are frozen indefinitely, discarded, or destroyed. While IVF success rates are about 50% for women under 35, the procedure also increases the risk of complications for both mothers and babies. The IVF process also carries significant emotional, financial, and moral consequences for families.
Quote of the Week
“God sees human population growth as a blessing to people and their environment.”
~ Craig A. Carter
