“I join all Catholics throughout our nation in observing January 22 as a day of prayer and penance. As we prayerfully continue the essential work of restoring full legal protection of all preborn children and supporting parents facing difficult pregnancies, we also recognize our need for asking forgiveness and healing from the Lord for when we have given in to the culture of death.

“Abortion inflicts deep and lasting wounds on society, but more directly on individuals and families. Many mothers and fathers may feel they have no choice except abortion. Some are pressured or coerced. No matter the circumstances of the abortion, we must recognize the often-silent grief of parents for their child and their despair of being worthy of the love and forgiveness of God and others.

“To the parents of children who have died by abortion, I am deeply sorry for your loss. Know that our Lord loves you as His daughters and sons no matter your actions. No sin is beyond His unfathomable Mercy. Jesus greatly desires our repentant hearts and invites us into an encounter with Him. For Catholics, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is always available for those seeking God’s forgiveness, hope, and peace.

“As we celebrate this Jubilee Year as Pilgrims of Hope, Pope Francis invites us to experience God’s love ‘that awakens in hearts the sure hope of salvation in Christ’ (Spes Non Confundit, 6). Hope allows those who have been involved in abortion to turn to God and repent, confident that He will forgive and make them whole.

“This January 22 and beyond, we need to be reassured that Jesus Himself, who is the source of our hope, was first wounded for our offenses, and suffered for every sin of ours, including abortion. Please join me in praying that God will fill the hearts of mothers and fathers suffering the emotional and psychological wounds from abortion with the hope of forgiveness that only He can give. We invite them to seek support from the Church’s compassionate and confidential ministries.”

If you or someone you know is interested in confidential help after abortion, please reach out to your local Catholic parish, or visit the national Project Rachel Ministry websites, www.HopeAfterAbortion.org or www.EsperanzaPosAborto.org for a listing of diocesan abortion healing ministries.

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(ZENIT News – Center for Family and Human Rights / Washington, 01.13.2024).- U.S. President Joe Biden has given the United States’ highest civilian honor to George Soros, the investor and philanthropist who has used his influence to promote abortion and gender ideology internationally while working to censor his opposition and label them as “anti-rights.”

Biden credits Soros with having “focused on global initiatives that strengthen democracy, human rights, education, and social justice” through his Open Society Foundations.  However, Soros’ vision of strengthening human rights involves taking highly controversial stances on issues that divide the international community, such as abortion, sexual orientation and gender identity, prostitution, and sexuality education.

At the 2023 Women Deliver conference, the Open Society Foundation announced a new funding facility “to counter the anti-rights movement and provide financial investment into the most neglected sexual and reproductive health areas,” including in particular “women in all their diversity and the LGBTQIA+ communities.”  “Women in all their diversity” is a euphemism that expands the category to include biological men.

The emphasis on countering the so-called “anti-rights movement”—meaning mainstream social conservatives—is a longstanding priority of the Soros-funded UK-based website OpenDemocracy, which received a grant in 2022 for “$600,000 over 33 months “for exposing threats to sexual and reproductive health and rights.”

Some of OpenDemocracy’s projects included publishing stolen emails from a European pro-life mailing list, launching smear campaigns against pro-life activists and organizations, and pressuring banks to stop allowing conservative charities (and even the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) to receive donations through their matching grant programs.

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), a global abortion giant, proudly teamed up with Open Society to oppose “a transnational network of anti-rights and conservative forces and a financial infrastructure that contribute billions of dollars in funding to spread vitriolic narratives, promote regressive legislation, and attack our rights to control our own bodies.”  According to IPPF, such work is tantamount to protecting democracy against authoritarianism.

OpenDemocracy has also campaigned against funding for so-called “conversion therapy,” including by accusing the U.S. Agency for International Development and other LGBTQ-friendly organizations of funding such efforts.  While “conversion therapy” is often described in terms of outdated and draconian efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, activists in fact oppose any effort to help a client manage unwanted feelings and attractions through talk therapy.  Moreover, concerns have arisen in recent years that blanket bans on such talk therapy are having the effect of fast-tracking young girls struggling with gender confusion into medical gender transition through puberty blockers and ultimately hormones and surgeries.

Soros-funded outlets also strongly promote the normalization and decriminalization of prostitution under the name “sex work.”  They not only oppose the criminalization of those engaged in prostitution themselves, but also oppose attempts to target the demand side through the criminalization of those soliciting prostitutes or facilitating prostitution, such as pimps and brothel owners (sometimes called the Nordic model).

The Open Society Foundations also supports efforts to ensure access to gestational surrogacy “through the lens of reproductive justice and LGBTQ rights” through a project called Surrogacy360.

George Soros and his Open Society Foundations have been outspoken funders and advocates for the most extreme positions on sexuality and reproduction both within the U.S. and internationally.  By awarding Soros with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Biden closes out his presidency with one final kick at the pro-life values he long ago claimed to espouse.

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(ZENIT News – Center for Family and Human Rights / Washington, 01.13.2024).- As the UN carries out a sixteen-day campaign against “gender-based violence,” its Western European regional office proposed a definition of “femicide,” historically understood as the intentional murder of women, usually by men, to include deaths related to “unsafe abortion.”

The term “femicide” dates to 1976, and was coined by feminist activist Diana Russell, but as the UN Western European office notes, the concept has “grown increasingly complex” since then, leading to “a lack of standardization” and “inconsistent definitions across regions and countries.”

In 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) wrote that femicide is “generally understood to involve intentional murder of women,” and that this definition is “commonly used in policies, laws and research.”  Nevertheless, they note that some “broader definitions include any killings of women or girls.”

Sex-selective abortion is often included in femicide definitions because it involves the intentional killing of unborn girls specifically because they are female.  However, the idea of including the deaths of women due to abortion complications is more novel—and controversial.

In 2017, the European Institute for Gender Equality surveyed the definitions of rape, femicide, and intimate partner violence across Europe.  It noted that several European countries define deaths resulting from female genital mutilation or “unsafe” abortion as separate crimes, but none of them include these deaths within the definition of femicide.  The only source surveyed that proposed its inclusion was the then-current UN Special Rapporteur on the causes and consequences of violence against women and girls, Rashida Manjoo.

In her 2012 report to the UN General Assembly, Manjoo wrote about “gender-related killings,” also known as femicides, and proposed that “deaths due to poorly conducted or clandestine abortions” are an indirect category of such killings.  Also included were maternal mortality and deaths related to organized crime, drug dealing, and human trafficking.

While the inclusion of deaths from indirect causes risks diluting the concept of femicide and directing attention away from perpetrators who intentionally murder women, it also provides abortion activists with a new way to pressure countries to change their laws.  The organizers of the 16 Days campaign against gender-based violence published a 2022 fact sheet on “femicide due to unsafe abortions.”  In it, they make no mention of prosecuting abortionists who cause women death or injury.  Instead, they argue that abortion restrictions force women to seek abortions in risky ways, causing deaths, effectively accusing countries with pro-life laws of the crime of femicide.  The entire basis for their claim that abortion-related deaths of women are a form of femicide is Manjoo’s 2012 report.

The WHO, which the fact sheet also cites, has defined “unsafe” abortions as “the termination of a pregnancy by people lacking the necessary skills, or in an environment lacking minimal medical standards, or both.”  Since the WHO publishes medical standards, including on abortion, this means the definition can be adapted in line with the WHO’s longstanding pro-abortion agenda.

Importantly, the WHO does not define all illegal abortions as “unsafe,” provided they are carried out according to the WHO’s increasingly lax standards, including self-induced abortions with pills.  Accordingly, the 16 Days fact sheet on “femicide due to unsafe abortions” includes among its “promising practices” the group Women on Waves, which sends abortion ships to countries with pro-life laws, and its project to fly drones carrying abortion pills into countries where it is illegal.

UN member countries seeking to protect women from intentional violence and murder may become increasingly skeptical of the term “femicide” if abortion proponents are able to successfully hijack its definition.

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In the Catholic Church, a ‘novena’ consists of prayers over nine successive days, and this particular novena is an opportunity for prayer and penance in observance of the annual Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children on January 22.

All are invited to sign up! Participants may access the novena or subscribe to receive the daily prayers by email or text message in English at 9daysforlife.com or in Spanish at respectlife.org/9-dias-por-la-vida.

Sponsored by the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the novena began in 2013 in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade—the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal throughout the United States. While the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization returned the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives at federal and state levels, continuing efforts are needed to protect children and their mothers from the tragedy of abortion. This is the thirteenth year the novena is taking place. Since the novena began, it has reached hundreds of thousands of people in over one hundred countries spanning six continents.

The overarching intention of the novena is the end to abortion. Each daily prayer intention highlights a related topic and is accompanied by a reflection, educational information, and suggested daily actions. A resource kit is available, featuring the daily prayer intentions and reflections, among other materials that are available in both English and Spanish. A press kit is also available.

For additional information and updates throughout the novena, please visit the USCCB’s social media pages on X, Facebook, Threads, and Instagram.

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(ZENIT News – Center for Family and Human Rights / Washington, 12.20.2024).- Amnesty International and a group of other pro-abortion organizations say abortionists deserve special protection as “human rights defenders,” despite the fact that there is no international human right to abortion.

The report was written by the leading global abortion providers MSI Reproductive Choices and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the International Confederation of Midwives, and a handful of other groups whose sole focus is promoting and providing abortion internationally.

Amnesty defines “human rights defenders” as “all those who, individually or in association with others, act to defend human rights.”  They say, according to the “UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders,” such people have the right to support, protection, and an enabling environment to go about their “legitimate activities defending human rights.”

The full title of that declaration is the “UN Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.”  The full title clearly states that it pertains to rights that are “universally recognized.”  Issues like abortion, which are highly contested and have been repeatedly rejected as rights that would not meet that standard.

Nevertheless, abortion advocates insist they are human rights defenders. This circular logic has been taken up by some entities within the human rights system.  The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a video series in 2015 highlighting a notorious U.S. abortionists as a “human rights defender.”

To support its claim that abortion is a human right, Amnesty relies on the work of UN treaty monitoring bodies and independent experts who issue nonbinding opinions. They frequently cite each other in interpreting a right to abortion in the text of treaties that make no mention of abortion and would never have been adopted if they did.

Amnesty and its coauthoring groups go on to issue a series of demands to national governments to protect and support abortionists and abortion activists.  These include “safe access zones” around abortion clinics and providing “safe spaces” and psycho-social support for abortion providers to help them “process stigma, and to help prevent burn-out.”  They also call on social media platforms to defend abortion providers from “online harassment,” opening the door to censorship of pro-life opinions and speech.

The report calls on governments to ensure compliance with the World Health Organization’s radical abortion guideline and ensure mandatory abortion training within healthcare and clinical training, including “values clarification” designed to break down employees’ moral and ethical objections to complicity in abortion.  Conscientious objection should be strictly regulated, they argue, so that it does not interfere with the provision of abortion.

Governments are also ordered to “promote and affirm the legitimacy of abortion rights defenders” through public awareness-raising campaigns.  They add that “values clarification” should also be considered as part of professional development for law enforcement and legal justice workers.

The report also includes a nod to transgender ideology: “while these human rights defenders remain under threat, the abortion rights of women, girls and everyone who can become pregnant are adversely impacted.”

Like the human rights experts whose work Amnesty relies on for support, the opinions of Amnesty and its allies are entirely nonbinding and have no power to create new human rights.

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Speaking on Fox News’ The Story with Martha MacCallum on December 5, Johnson made his stance clear. When asked directly if he aims to eliminate funding for abortion organizations like Planned Parenthood, he responded, “I’d like to, that’s for sure.” He emphasized that the process requires building consensus and securing the necessary votes in both chambers of Congress.

Pathway to Defunding

Johnson highlighted the possibility of using a reconciliation bill—a legislative tool that allows certain budgetary measures to pass with a simple majority in both the House and Senate—as a potential pathway to achieve this goal. However, he noted that even with this mechanism, success depends on meticulous planning and coordination.

“Part of this will involve executive actions by the White House,” Johnson said, referencing the incoming Trump administration. “The president-elect has significant authority to act on this front, but where Congress is involved, that’s where the hard work of legislating comes in.”

Strategic Planning for January

Johnson hinted at a broader legislative strategy set to unfold in the new year. While withholding specific details, he confirmed that efforts to defund Planned Parenthood would form part of a larger pro-life agenda. “We’re working on a plan of action that will roll out in January,” he stated. “There are many ideas in development, and we’re committed to advancing a unified strategy.”

Challenges Ahead

Despite his determination, Johnson faces an uphill battle. With no Democratic support for pro-life measures and a narrowly held Republican majority, passing such legislation remains a formidable challenge. Furthermore, even if a defunding measure were to clear Congress, it would likely face significant legal and political opposition.

A Symbolic Fight

Johnson’s stance underscores the enduring tension surrounding abortion rights in the United States. While his remarks resonate with pro-life advocates, they also highlight the complexities of governing in a deeply divided political landscape. Whether his vision for defunding Planned Parenthood can materialize will depend on the ability of Congress to navigate these divides and on the strategic priorities of the Trump administration in the months ahead.

For now, pro-life and pro-choice advocates alike will be watching closely as Johnson and his allies prepare their legislative agenda for the upcoming year.

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This global alliance was announced during the VI Transatlantic Summit held by the Political Network for Values (PNfV) at the Spanish Senate on December 1 and 2 of this year.

“Our Transatlantic Summit, more than a meeting, is a call to action. Speeches are not enough, we have to act in a global and increasingly articulate way so that the dignity of every human being is respected at all stages of his or her development,” said Croatian MEP Stephen Bartulica, the new PNfV president.

“I encourage you to stand firm and persevere in defending what is good and true. Your example inspires people all over the world. We must fight in the arena of politics, but winning elections is not enough, it is culture that will ultimately determine the fate of our nations. Here we must not give an inch. We are called to win the hearts and minds of the next generation,” he said.

A five-point agenda

The Madrid Commitment was read by a group of young leaders and establishes that over the next ten years the signatories will promote a five-point agenda.

The first is to ensure that laws and governments respect the exercise of freedom to defend the dignity of every human being and his or her right to life, from conception to natural death, and to express one’s convictions peacefully and respectfully.

Encourages the development of legislative initiatives and public policies that establish an environment conducive to family formation and stability, so that men and women can fully exercise their universal right to marry, found a family and freely educate their children.

It states that they will generate a culture that celebrates life, appreciates the family and affirms the responsible exercise of freedom: and affirms that they will work to ensure that governments subscribe to and assume the Declaration of the Geneva Consensus, which promotes women’s health, respect for the life that is born and the sovereignty of peoples.

Finally, the Madrid Commitment gives continuity to the New York Declaration, which proposes a World Alliance demanding that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights be interpreted according to its original meaning.

An instrument for joining efforts

For the Network’s leadership, the document is seen as an instrument that will broaden its advocacy capacity and bring together politicians and civic leaders from around the world.

The document was welcomed by delegations from Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sierra Leone, Switzerland, Uganda, Ukraine and Venezuela, among other countries.

Among the Summit participants were Nahuel Sotelo, Secretary of Worship and Civilization of Argentina; Márton Ugrósdy, Undersecretary of State in the Prime Minister’s Office of Hungary; Members of the European Parliament Kinga Gal, of Hungary; Stephen Bartulica, of Croatia; Nicolas Bay, of France; Paolo Inselvini, of Italy; Margarita de la Pisa, of Spain; and Serban-Dimitrie Sturdza, of Romania.

Also U.S. Congressman Andy Harris; Paola Holguín, Senator and presidential pre-candidate from Colombia; Senator Eduardo Girão and Congressman Nikolas Ferreira from Brazil; Parliamentarians Stephan Schubert from Chile; Nicolás Mayoraz from Argentina; Rogelio Genao from the Dominican Republic; Ignacio Garriga, from Spain; Rita Maria Matias, from Portugal; Gudrun Kugler, from Austria; Krzysztof Bosak and Krzysztof Szczucki, from Poland; John Crane, member of the Indiana Senate; and Kerri Seekins-Crowe, member of the Montana House of Representatives, both from the United States.

Speakers from Africa included parliamentarians Lucy Akello of Uganda and Samuel Sam, peace ambassador for the Government of Sierra Leone, and there were seven delegations from the continent.

A new president of the Network

A change in PNfV’s leadership took place during the Summit. Croatian MEP Stephen Bartulica is the new president, taking over from José Antonio Kast, who served a term of two and a half years.

“José Antonio Kast’s period at the head of the Network has been full of fruits. His prestige, vision and personal integrity allowed us to move forward and generate greater synergies and increasingly effective articulations. Now, under the leadership of Stephen Bartulica, our network will continue to open new paths to broaden the impact of our agenda,” says Velarde.

Bartulica is 54 years old, was born in St. Joseph, USA, and is the son of Croatian parents. He is married and the father of four children. He holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Missouri and a PhD in Political Philosophy and Ethics from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He is an associate professor of political philosophy at the Catholic University of Croatia.

Founder of the think tank Center for Renewal of Culture. He was a member of the Parliament of his country (2020) and is currently a member of the European Parliament (2024). He is co-founder and International Secretary of the DOMiNO party and member of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).

The summit is made possible thanks to the support of partner organizations of the Network: The Heritage Foundation, Foundation for a Civic Hungary, Center for Fundamental Rights, International Organization for the Family, Family Watch International; Center for Family and Human Rights; Centro de Estudios, Formación y Análisis Social – CEU-CEFAS, Family Research Council, Fundación Neos, Ordo Iuris – Institute for Legal Culture; Talenting Group and Más Cinco.

***

THE MADRID COMMITMENT

On the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family and the 10th Anniversary of the Political Network for Values

From Madrid City for Life, (1) we, representatives of Governments, political leaders democratically elected, youth and civic leaders, from 45 countries in Europe, America and Africa, announce the beginning of a decade of action in favor of freedom, the family and a culture of life, aimed at turning the tide of our times.

At the VI Transatlantic Summit of the Political Network for Values, we have reaffirmed the recognition of the infinite dignity of every human life, on every stage, as the foundation of our civilization. And we have also affirmed the freedom to publicly express and promote our values, as an inalienable key to a democratic society.

For this reason, we commit to establish bonds of unity and collaboration among us to:

1. Guarantee that our laws and governments respect the exercise of freedom to defend the dignity of every human being and his or her right to life, from the moment of conception till the natural death, and to express one’s convictions in a peaceful and respectful manner.
2. Promote legislative initiatives and public policies that establish an environment conducive to family formation and stability, so that men and women can fully exercise their universal right to marry, found a family and freely educate their children, as an essential driver for a culture of life.
3. Work so that our governments subscribe and implement the Geneva Consensus Declaration. (2)
4. Foster the growth of a Global Alliance for the universally agreed human rights and fundamental freedoms, as proposed in the New York Declaration, (3) demanding that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights be interpreted according to its original meaning.
5. Be generators, in all the environments within our reach, of a culture that celebrates life, appreciates the family and affirms the responsible exercise of freedom.

By undertaking these commitments, we are working for the fulfillment of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, in particular, its preamble and articles 1, 2, 3, 7, 16, 18, 17, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28.

We are at a turning point of an era change. Therefore, we call upon our contemporaries, political, civic and intellectual leaders, to join us in this endeavor. It is time to bring forth a new spring for freedom, the family and a culture of life.

Madrid, December 2, 2024

1. Decision approved by the plenary session of the Madrid City Council in session 4/2024 on April 30 (Point 29).
2. Geneva Consensus Declaration(Doc. A/75/626, 75th session of the UN General Assembly).
3. New York Declaration, on the occasion of the V Transatlantic Summit of the Political Network for Values (Doc. A/78/639, 78th session of the UN General Assembly).

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A Protest Turned Legal Battle

The incident occurred on October 3, 2023, outside Causeway Hospital in Coleraine. Brennan, a devout Catholic and vocal pro-life advocate, stood within the restricted buffer zone established to shield womans seeking abortion services. Arrested alongside her partner, David Hall, Brennan’s actions were filmed and later shared online by the legal advocacy group Christian Concern, highlighting her peaceful stance and the subsequent intervention by authorities.

Brennan pleaded not guilty, arguing her religious convictions and actions were protected under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). However, District Judge Peter Kind upheld her conviction, referencing a 2022 UK Supreme Court decision that validated similar restrictions as a means to balance protest rights against the privacy and dignity of those seeking abortions.

“A Moral Duty to Protect the Innocent”

During her testimony, Brennan, 53, delivered an impassioned defense rooted in her Christian faith. Swearing on the Bible, she declared, *“I was fulfilling my moral duty to stand up for the smallest among us.”* Quoting Proverbs 24:11, she emphasized her responsibility to intervene for the unborn, likening her advocacy to the work of emergency responders saving lives.

Brennan’s testimony criticized both the government and the laws restricting protests around abortion clinics. “The government, in its arrogance, believes it can overrule God,” she asserted, condemning the legislation as contrary to Scripture.

She expressed concern over what she sees as an erosion of Christian freedoms, stating, “Today, they’re keeping Christians away from abortion centers. Tomorrow, it will be public squares and city centers.”

Wider Implications for Free Speech

Brennan’s case has become a rallying point for those opposing buffer zones and broader restrictions on public expressions of faith. Her comparison of the current government to a dictatorship reflects growing unease among religious communities, particularly as reports of arrests for street preachers increase across the UK.

While her conviction was framed as a matter of maintaining access to healthcare, critics argue it symbolizes a chilling effect on free speech. Brennan plans to appeal the verdict, stating, “I feel betrayed by my government, but I am proud to have spoken up for the unborn and for Christ.”

Support from Across Borders

The ruling has drawn international attention, with messages of support for Brennan pouring in from across Ireland and beyond. Her case has sparked renewed calls for dialogue on the balance between protecting individual freedoms and safeguarding access to medical services.

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(ZENIT News – Center for Family and Human Rights / Washington, 12.04.2024).- Over 100 Republican lawmakers asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to account for all the federal money flowing to domestic and international abortion groups.

“Proper oversight of public funds and programs is crucial for determining the value of the goods and services provided to and funded by American taxpayers,” wrote Republican lawmakers in a  bicameral letter.

The letter comes just days after Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the co-chairs of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, announced that $300 million of federal grants to Planned Parenthood were on the chopping block.

Led by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), the letter was supported by 31 Senators and 81 House members including the most senior members to lead the 118^th Congress; Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA).

The Members asked for a comprehensive accounting of all funding to abortion providers over a three-year period, from 2022-2024. Those operating domestically include Planned Parenthood and its affiliates, as well as FPA Women’s Health, American Women’s Services, All Women’s Health Center, and Whole Women’s Health.

They also asked for an accounting of all funding to global abortion giants International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and MSI Reproductive Choices and their affiliates. Both organizations have hundreds of affiliates operating in Africa, southeast Asia and Latin America. Lawmakers requested that the report include all funding amounts, activities, agency source of funding and whether the recipient received assistance directly or through a prime organization.

Writing in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, Musk and Ramaswamy outlined goals for eliminating federal overspending and waste including $500 billion annually that is “unauthorized by Congress or being used in ways that Congress never intended.” Included in this they wrote is “$1.5 billion for grants to international organizations” and “$300 million to progressive groups like Planned Parenthood.”

Cuts to International organizations could include eliminating funding to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), embroiled in controversy for their work promoting abortion, and past involvement in China’s coercive family planning program. Funding to UNFPA averaged about $30 million annually in core funding under Democrat administrations with additional assistance being made for “voluntary” activities. The Biden administration has drastically increased this funding with over $350 million to UNFPA in 2022 and 2023, without Congressional approval.

During President Trump’s first administration, he tried to cut funding to domestic and international abortion providers to stop U.S. taxpayer complicity in abortion.

When Trump took office in 2017, he expanded the Mexico City Policy to all global health, around $10 billion. This prevented foreign abortion providers from receiving U.S. grants unless they abandoned all abortion activities. Abortion groups however have moved activities into sectors beyond global health, including humanitarian, climate, water and sanitation, and other programs. Pro-life advocates hope that when Trump takes office a second time he will extend the Mexico City Policy to all foreign assistance, roughly $50 billion.

Global abortion groups anticipating this move have been voicing opposition to the expected application of the Mexico City Policy since even before the election. The most vocal abortion groups, like IPPF and MSI have said they will not comply with abortion restrictions and that by forfeiting U.S. grants, women’s health will be impacted, especially those in rural areas.

In 2017, IPPF and MSI also refused to comply with the abortion restrictions failing the women they pledged to help signifying that first and foremost, abortion is their primary business. Abortion groups were among the most aggressive critics of the Trump administration throughout his first term.

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Escalating Prosecutions

The FACE Act, enacted in 1994, has been used by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute over 30 pro-life demonstrators in 2023 alone. Protests in Nashville, Mount Juliet (Tennessee), Washington, D.C., and Sterling Heights (Michigan) have led to federal charges against activists, many of whom are senior citizens.

Among those sentenced is Lauren Handy, 30, a leader in the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, who received nearly five years in federal prison. Handy, undeterred by her sentence, vowed to continue her mission, stating that she would not let «fear or shame» prevent her from treating the unborn as equals.

Jonathan Darnel, who recorded a Washington, D.C., protest that temporarily shut down an abortion clinic, was sentenced to nearly three years for his role. Reflecting on the protest, Darnel said, «We hope that some of those children were saved.»

Elderly Activists Behind Bars

The case of Paulette Harlow, 75, underscores the DOJ’s aggressive stance. Footage from her demonstration shows peaceful prayer and hymn-singing, yet she now serves time for blocking clinic entrances. Similarly, 76-year-old Joan Bell, a mother and grandmother, was sentenced for her involvement, with her husband Chris offering their separation as spiritual reparations.

Jean Marshall, 74, also faces imprisonment despite widespread support from pro-life communities, many of whom see her as a symbol of sacrificial activism.

Historical Echoes and Persistent Disparities

Eva Ed, 89, a survivor of communist Yugoslavia’s concentration camps, was convicted for blocking a Michigan clinic entrance. Her case has drawn significant attention, as it highlights the stark contrast in enforcement: while over 100 attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers and churches remain unresolved, pro-life protesters face swift and severe legal action.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has attributed this disparity to the differing circumstances of the crimes, arguing that pro-life protests occur “in daylight,” making identification easier, while pro-abortion vandalism typically takes place “under cover of darkness.”

Trump’s Pledge

President-elect Trump has criticized the DOJ’s approach, describing it as driven by «Marxist and Stalinist ideologies.» He has pledged to pardon convicted activists, calling their protests acts of conscience rather than criminal behavior.

In a speech earlier this year, Trump referenced Harlow’s case and condemned what he sees as excessive sentencing: “Eleven years for peaceful prayer and protest? This isn’t justice.”

Republican Pushback

Republican lawmakers have voiced concerns about the DOJ’s priorities, urging transparency in its investigations into violence against pro-life institutions. Advocacy groups are also demanding answers about the perceived neglect of such cases, which they argue reflects systemic bias against the pro-life movement.

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The post These are the pro-lifers facing charges for defending unborn babies that Trump could pardon appeared first on ZENIT - English.