The Alabama Supreme Court’s recent in vitro fertilization ruling is placing a new spotlight on personhood legislation, or legislation that recognizes the unborn child as having the legal rights and protections of a person, experts acknowledge.
Respect Life
Multiple states to place abortion on the ballot in November
Multiple states will have measures to expand access to abortion on their ballots in November, a key challenge for pro-life groups in the fall after their losses on similar contests in post-Dobbs elections.
Florida Supreme Court approves abortion ballot measure sought by pro-choice groups
The Florida Supreme Court on April 1 simultaneously upheld that the state’s Constitution does not protect abortion access and allowed a proposed amendment seeking to do so to qualify for the state’s November ballot.
Catholic couples struggle through an infertility care desert
Secular doctors often turn to artificial reproductive technology, while Catholics OB-GYNS who are trained to seek out the root cause of infertility are few and far between.
Supreme Court justices express skepticism over standing amid abortion pill arguments
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments March 26 in a case concerning mifepristone, a pill commonly used for abortion. It is the first major case involving abortion on its docket since the high court overturned its previous abortion precedent in 2022.
Gov. Noem signs bill to create video explainer of South Dakota abortion laws
Gov. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., signed into law legislation proponents call a medical education bill that directs South Dakota’s Department of Health to create a video explaining the state’s abortion regulations for health care professionals and the general public.
Down syndrome advocates call for Catholics to help parents embrace ‘dreams, not fears’
If there can be said to be a vanishing population in the United States, one demographic immediately stands out: people living with Down syndrome.
Spending bill grants PEPFAR one-year extension
The U.S. government’s global effort to combat HIV/AIDS was granted a one-year extension in the government funding package Congress is expected to approve, ending an impasse over the program’s reauthorization — for now.
Abortions soar to highest number in over a decade post Dobbs, study finds
A recent study from the Guttmacher Institute, an organization that supports abortion access, found that the number of abortions in 2023 has increased to the highest number and rate in the United States in over a decade.
Question Corner: Why isn’t a pro-life petition part of the Prayer of the Faithful for every Mass?
In more typical parish settings, perhaps the pro-life intention might be “hidden” and implicit rather than explicit and obvious in a given intercession.
French bishops call for standing in solidarity with the elderly, rather than choosing death
France’s bishops issued a joint statement March 19 in response to a draft law on “aid in dying” that French President Emmanuel Macron announced March 10 as a “law of fraternity.”
National Guard member joins MCC as respect life director
As the new associate director for Respect Life Advocacy at the Maryland Catholic Conference, Diane Arias has jumped with both feet into the legislative session that began in January.