By J.M. Glover:
Do Americans want to have children?
According to a Nov. 3 headline in Breitbart.com, “One in three young adults do not have and do not want to have children.” A poll associated with Newsweek found that 30 per cent of Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) and Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) did not have and do not want to have children. The U.S birthrate has dropped an average of two per cent every year from 2015 to 2020, but accelerated to falling three per cent from 2022 to 2023 according to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. Elon Musk says: “A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far.” One quarter of 40-year-old women had never been married as of 2021, compared to only 6 per cent of the same demographic in 1980. Another report shows that women are “no longer focused on adhering to traditional relationship timelines and milestones” with only one in five “actively seeking out marriage”—the cornerstone of starting a family—as a goal.” Although the news seems dismal, it may not be. We know that people today wait longer to get married and have children in part due to economic and career issues. The longer they wait, the more difficult it is to achieve pregnancy, so starting a family may not be because of a decreased desire to have children altogether; Gallup polls show that 45 per cent of Americans favour large families—three or more, and this is a new high since 1971. The survey mentioned that 30 per cent of Gen Z and Millennials don’t want children, but the good news is that 63 per cent of adults under 30 want to have children and they are more likely than older age groups to believe that three or more children is the ideal. This seems to contradict the research figure above that reports that only 20 per cent of women today want to get married and have children. .
‘The DC five’ abortion case
A press release from the office of Rep. Chip Roy (R, Texas) states: “The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly advised the D.C. Medical Examiner to dispose of the remains of five preborn babies whose bodies were recovered from the Washington Surgi-Clinic in March of 2022. The D.C. authorities continue to ignore a previous request made by Representative Chip Roy earlier this year.” Roy, chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, and his committee have been lobbying for the retention of the remains of five aborted babies, whose bodies were discovered by pro-life advocates at the Surgi-Clinic of notorious abortionist Cesare Santangelo in March 2022. Roy and his committee have serious concerns that the Partial-Birth Abortion Act and the Born Alive Infants Protection Act have been violated. Roy contends that “congressional investigation into potential violations and the sufficiency of existing law will be hampered” since the remains and other evidence are needed to determine if Santangelo has committed “federal crimes, including infanticide and partial-birth abortion.” In an Oct. 10 letter to the mayor and police chief of Washington D.C., Roy affirmed that “These children deserve justice regardless of which administration is in power.” Senator Ted Cruz (R, Texas) threatened a full congressional hearing if the remains were discarded. As of Nov. 8, no further action has been taken by either side.
The weaponization of the FACE Act
On Oct. 10, Chip Roy, chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray outlining his concerns with the “Biden-Harris Administration’s continued weaponization of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act against pro-life Americans.” There are serious issues of the disparity in prosecutions between Americans supporting life and the violent attacks against crisis pregnancy centres which ramped up in the wake of the leak of the draft Supreme Court opinion in the Dobbs case. The documented violence against pregnancy centres goes back to May 2022, in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, up to Nov. 11 of this year. At least 95 pregnancy centres and pro-life groups have been attacked and vandalized, as well as countless churches. The attacks have included arson and firebombing; smashed windows; graffiti, including with threatening messages. Few vandals have been caught, critics charge due to little interest in pursuing the perpetrators. But the federal government has aggressively gone after pro-life activists who protest in front of abortion facilities. In 2023, eight pro-life advocates, including 74-year-old Joan Bell and several other elderly and ill persons, were found guilty of crimes relating to conspiracy and violating the FACE Act, and earlier this year were given prison sentences ranging from two to five years. One defendant, 59-year-old Heather Idoni, suffered a stroke after being held in solitary confinement for 22 days for sharing her food with another inmate. She was allowed out of her cell for two hours daily and the lights in her cell were kept on 24-hours a day. The findings of the Roy investigation could support the repeal of the FACE Act which “pro-life advocates argue has been misused to target peaceful protesters.” Roy and Senator Mike Lee (R, Utah) have both introduced legislation to repeal the Act, and advocate for Congress to protect pro-life voices.
Christian romance novels raise money for crisis pregnancy centres
Authors Candace Sessums of Texas and Michell Kampmeier of Arizona found one another on the internet. Kampmeier wanted to write anthologies of faith-based romance novels, but she wasn’t sure how to proceed. Two weeks after posting her desire online, Sessums e-mailed her with an idea: “Hey, I was thinking about doing anthologies for pregnancy centers—do you want to participate?” Kampmeier exclaimed: “God is so good! Like how amazing is this that He put it right back on my radar after I’d sort of given up” (Pregnancy Help News, May 2023). Each woman wrote two full stories which was compiled into a Christmas anthology, Let Every Heart, and was published in November 2022. Proceeds went to a crisis pregnancy centre in Arizona. With the addition of four more authors, a six-story anthology called You Have Made My Heart was produced; the proceeds helped a pregnancy resource center in Texas to buy baby diapers. Sessums says, “Our hope is to find charities and life organizations that may be smaller local community organizations that really need this kind of help.” There are plans for more anthologies. Sessums and Kampmeier have produced guidelines that include each author must contribute funding to pay for promotion and agrees to publicize on social media accounts, and on any newsletters to which he/she contributes. They caution that these projects do not raise a lot of money, but writers gain experience and pro-life organizations are helped. A win/win all round.
