Pro-Life World View | February 21, 2025

JD Vance calls out crazy British arrests of pro-lifers silently praying near abortion centres
LifeSite News

JD Vance calls out ‘crazy’ UK arrests of pro-lifers for silently praying near abortion centres

US Vice-President JD Vance used his address at the Munich Security Conference to call out what he termed the “backslide away from conscience rights,” which is evident in European law changes.  Mr Vance pulled no punches, saying, “The backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular, in the crosshairs.  In Britain and across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat.”

Mr Vance called out arrests and prosecutions in the United Kingdom of two pro-lifers in particular, and the dangers inherent in UK buffer zone regulations. The article expands on this theme, including the Scottish laws.

FLI Comment:
It is concerning that there is an attempt throughout the Western World to politicize Christian prayer within defined exclusion zones around abortion centres. In the United States, several exclusion zones have been legally overturned. Hopefully, under the Trump Administration, these unjust laws will become a thing of the past. Unfortunately, laws within jurisdictions in the United Kingdom and New Zealand are Orwellian, violating the rights of Christians to pray in private or in public, unthinkable in nations that, not too long ago, still upheld Christian values. It is essential that those who do keep vigil near abortion centres understand that there is indeed a difference between protest and prayer.

EU could ban the No. 1 Catholic App – Hallow
Joachin Meisner Hertz – Zenit

European Union could ban Hallow – the number 1 Catholic App

Hallow is the world-leading Catholic app used by millions internationally.  Interestingly, China has banned it.  Now, EU law changes in 2023 may make legal compliance over content moderation too difficult.  The questions raised in this article include:

• Is the EU enforcing fair digital policies?
• Is it unintentionally—or deliberately—stifling faith-based platforms?

A legal battle might ensue with interest and support from others. The reason?  The consequences (unintended or otherwise) if a prayer App can be pushed out of the market through excessive regulatory demands; what might this mean for churches, religious charities, or faith-driven initiatives relying on digital platforms?

Kennedy says Trump wants study of abortion pills which have killed dozens of women and injured thousands
Steven Ertelt – LifeNews

Kennedy says Trump wants study of harm caused by abortion pills

Robert F. Kennedy – the Secretary for Health and Human Services in President Trump’s Administration – offers hope to the pro-life cause: “President Trump is considering a comprehensive review of abortion pills, given the reports of dozens of women who have died and thousands who have suffered adverse effects.”

Given President Trump’s election campaign support for the abortion pill regime, this is potentially good news.  Currently, in the US, more babies are killed using abortion pills (chemical abortions) than any other method of killing the preborn.  Additionally, there is clear evidence of harm to mothers.

FLI Comment:
The abortion pills used are mifepristone to block the effect of the naturally occurring pregnancy hormone progesterone, starving the developing baby of essential nutrients; then misoprostol, some hours later, which causes contractions that will expel the baby. 

Let us pray that such a study does ensue and that it is comprehensive, objective, and evidence-based. For insights on the use in New Zealand of chemical abortions, read HERE and HERE.

President Trump signs Executive Order expanding IVF
Steven Ertelt – LifeNews

President Trump signs Executive Order expanding IVF

During his election campaign, President Trump showed strong support for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) as a way to assist couples to start a family. He vowed to improve access and affordability if he won.  Now, President Trump has signed a new Executive Order that mandates the protection of access to IVF and states a policy intention to enhance the availability and affordability of the procedures.

FLI Comment:
There are many moral issues inherent in the use of IVF that cannot be ignored, including that the vast majority of babies conceived in vitro are and will never be born, the removal of conception from within the context of marital love and the conjugal act, and the commodification of children are key examples.  As we have noted before, IVF technologies have resulted in many more unborn lives being ended than through abortion.

The Pastoral Letter penned just weeks ago by Bishop Michael F Burbridge (Arlington Diocese in Virginia, USA) is worth reading.  He speaks with great compassion about the challenge of infertility but also with directness and clarity about the moral issues with IVF and similar technologies. See HERE.

UK pro-life groups fight massive battle to stop assisted suicide Bill
Chuck Donovan – LifeNews

UK pro-life groups fight massive battle to stop assisted suicide Bill

Late last year, the British House of Commons voted to advance the “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill” to the Committee stage for public and expert submissions. Several changes have already been proposed to the Bill. 

Especially controversial is the change of dropping final approval by a High Court Judge and instead establishing an “assisted dying'” panel that could meet in secret.  When MP Kim Leadbetter introduced her Bill last year, she emphasised the importance of the High Court Judge sign-off as a key so-called “safeguard” but has now proposed a review by an “‘assisted dying”‘ panel instead.  Her proposal is drawing heavy criticism. 

As always, when debating the deliberate premature ending of someone’s life, the core issue is the sanctity of human life.  A fierce debate is underway in the UK, and the outcome is not a foregone conclusion, given the strength of the argument against the Bill’s proposals. 

We must pray, therefore, that in God’s mercy, the United Kingdom will be one jurisdiction in the developed world that sees the evil of assisted suicide and euthanasia and will resoundingly reject it.

Marriage matters more than ever amid falling birth rates
Madalaine Elhabbal – Catholic News Agency

Marriage matters ‘more than ever’ amid falling birth rates

Sociologist and author Brad Wilcox says that 1 in 3 young adults in the US today are forecast never to marry.  Mr Wilcox was part of a panel that addressed the question “Why have children?”

The implications of falling fertility rates – already well below replacement rates in the US and most of the developed world – are poorly understood, so most people do not realise the implications for society. The linked article provides insights into these issues and offers encouragement and advice from both Mr Wilcox and fellow panellists Nicholas Eberstadt and Margarite Mooney, both of whom share personal stories.