Pope Leo XIV arrived in Paris on September 25, 2026, and urged French leaders at the Élysée Palace to protect every human life, condemning assisted dying, abortion, and surrogacy while emphasizing the importance of welcoming life unconditionally and supporting the vulnerable. During his four-day apostolic journey, the pope also highlighted France's deep Christian roots, addressed secularization challenges, and planned visits including a Mass with nearly 600,000 attendees and a prayer vigil for young people at Stade de France.
The End of Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act took effect in Illinois on September 12, allowing terminally ill patients to request prescription drugs to hasten death under specific conditions, prompting educational efforts by Catholic and pro-life groups to explain Church teachings and the law's implications. Jozef Zalot, a bioethicist with the National Catholic Bioethics Center, and Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, are among those leading workshops and discussions to help clergy, laity, and families understand and respond to the new law while emphasizing compassionate accompaniment of the suffering.
Hannah Strege, known as the world’s first snowflake baby, was conceived as a frozen embryo from an IVF process and later adopted. Strege advocates against the view that embryos are merely property, emphasizing that human value is inherent from conception regardless of size, development, environment, or dependence.
Florida couple Natalie and Joshua Strong allege that Brown Fertility clinic in Jacksonville used another man's sperm during their IVF treatment, as DNA tests showed Joshua had a zero percent probability of being the biological father of their daughter born in 2025. The couple is suing the clinic and its lead physician, Dr.
Government reports from the United Kingdom indicate a rising gender imbalance among Indian parents, with a higher number of boys born in third or later births, attributed to sex-selective abortion or IVF. Instances of baby girls being abandoned at maternity wards have also been reported, despite sex-selective abortion being illegal in the UK.
Justice Elena Kagan denied an emergency appeal from McKenna West, a surrogate who fled to Texas to give birth to a baby with a life-threatening heart defect after the biological parents requested an abortion. The California court recognized the biological parents, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, as the legal parents responsible for the child's medical care, a decision upheld by multiple courts including Texas and the U.S.
A federal appeals court panel heard an appeal from Sean Curran, a quadriplegic, and disability rights groups challenging Delaware's End of Life Options Act, arguing it discriminates against disabled people by requiring doctors to inform patients about assisted suicide as part of standard care. Delaware officials argued Curran lacks standing and that the law does not legalize assisted suicide but merely offers it as a voluntary option, while the court panel did not indicate when or how it would rule.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case of an infant boy born in Texas after his surrogate mother, McKenna West, refused to terminate the pregnancy despite the biological parents' request due to the child's life-threatening condition.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the custody battle between McKenna West, a surrogate mother from Alaska, and California couple Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, who had a surrogacy contract requiring abortion if fetal abnormalities were detected.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case of Alaska surrogate McKenna West, who refused to abort the baby she was carrying after he was diagnosed with a serious heart defect and sought a say in his care, leaving a California ruling recognizing the intended parents as the legal parents intact.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case of surrogate mother McKenna West, who refused to have an abortion and sought custody of the child diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan denied surrogate McKenna West's emergency appeal to overturn a California court ruling that she has no legal or physical claim to the medically fragile baby boy she carried, who was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Despite West's efforts to secure custody and ensure the baby received life-saving care in Texas, the baby's genetic parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, retain legal rights and are currently suing West for damages, while courts have ordered that the baby must receive stabilizing and life-sustaining care.
The Supreme Court declined to intervene in a custody dispute involving a California couple and their surrogate, McKenna West, who refused to terminate a pregnancy despite a severe fetal heart defect diagnosis. The California court recognized Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the legal parents of the baby, who was born in Texas and underwent surgery, with the Supreme Court's decision leaving the parentage ruling intact amid ongoing medical care concerns.
The Supreme Court declined to intervene in a custody dispute involving California parents and a surrogate who refused their request for an abortion after the unborn child was diagnosed with a serious heart defect. The surrogate, McKenna West, delivered the child in Texas and sought conservatorship, while the biological parents sued for breach of the surrogacy agreement and were previously ruled legal parents by a California court.
The Supreme Court declined to intervene in a custody dispute involving California parents and a surrogate who refused their request for an abortion after the unborn child was diagnosed with a serious heart defect. The surrogate, McKenna West, sought conservatorship of the child after delivering him in Texas, while the biological parents sued for breach of the surrogacy agreement and were previously ruled legal parents by a California trial court.
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan declined an emergency request from surrogate McKenna West to intervene in a custody dispute involving biological parents who had told her to get an abortion. West sought to overturn a parentage judgment issued in California in favor of the couple, but the case was not taken up by the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan declined to intervene in a custody dispute involving a baby born via surrogate after the surrogate refused to terminate the pregnancy despite a diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The lower court's order granting custody to the biological parents, who are caring for the baby in Texas following open-heart surgery, was upheld without explanation from Kagan.
Haotian Bai, a U.S. Army veteran, runs Patriot Conceptions, a California surrogacy agency that connects wealthy Chinese nationals with American surrogates, enabling children born through surrogacy to obtain U.S.
The spread of assisted suicide and euthanasia legalization and the resulting pressure on doctors to participate despite many refusing. It highlights the use of coercion, including threats to doctors' professional licenses, as a method to ensure compliance, citing bioethics advocates like Ezekiel Emanuel, Julian Savulescu, and Peter Singer.
Catherina David of Ontario considered abortion after learning her unborn son Samuel had Down syndrome, but changed her mind at the hospital following a dream she interpreted as a sign from God. Samuel was born with a heart condition requiring surgery, but is now a healthy baby, and David says she has no regrets about choosing to continue the pregnancy.
Haotian Bai, a U.S. Army veteran affiliated with the Hoover Institution think tank, runs Patriot Conceptions, a California surrogacy agency that serves Chinese clients, including billionaire Xu Bo.
From April 2027, women and their partners in the UK who experience a pregnancy ending before 24 weeks, including through abortion, failed IVF, or other pregnancy losses, will be entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid statutory bereavement leave. The policy has drawn criticism for equating abortion with miscarriage, raising concerns about the recognition of unborn life and potential misuse of the leave entitlement, while also extending to commissioning parents in surrogacy arrangements.
A Texas District Court vacated an emergency order that had kept Baby Gabriel/Rumi, born via surrogate McKenna West, in Texas to receive care for hypoplastic left heart syndrome, allowing his genetic parents to move him to California if approved by doctors. The court found that the genetic parents have consented to all recommended medical treatments and that some restrictions of the emergency order were no longer medically necessary, while maintaining that stabilizing and life-sustaining care must continue and that the Guardian Ad Litem remains appointed for the child.
Approximately 6,000 pro-life demonstrators participated in Germany's annual March for Life held simultaneously in Berlin and Cologne, with the Cologne rally experiencing attacks from counterdemonstrators who threw paint and set off smoke bombs at a pro-life information stand. Several bishops joined the Berlin march, which drew around 4,200 people according to organizers, and speakers at both events addressed issues such as surrogacy and the right to life from conception to natural death.
Chinese billionaire Xu Bo fathered up to 100 children through IVF and surrogacy in the U.S., aiming to create a 'mega-family' linked to Elon Musk's children, a scheme revealed during a court case denying his parental rights to unborn children. The article critiques the push for IVF as a human right, highlighting ethical concerns about embryo status and the Catholic Church's stance that IVF is unethical because it treats embryos as commodities rather than human persons deserving dignity from conception.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled that Baby Gabriel, born via surrogacy with a severe heart defect, can be taken from Texas to California by his biological parents for further treatment. Surrogate McKenna West sought sole conservatorship to control medical decisions and prevent the transfer, but the court prioritized the child's medical care and allowed the parents to proceed with the ICU-to-ICU transfer for additional surgeries.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen argued that a human embryo is a human being from the moment of fertilization and criticized the language that reduces unborn children to 'only scar tissue,' warning that such dehumanization leads to broader societal harms.
The moral ambiguity surrounding abortion by comparing it to the uncertainty in baseball rules, emphasizing that unresolved evidence about fetal personhood should not automatically be taken as proof that the fetus is not a person. It also highlights the competing costs of continuing a pregnancy versus ending it, noting that both choices carry significant and irreversible consequences that must be weighed carefully in the face of uncertainty.
Kallie Fell, Executive Director of the Center for Bioethics and Culture, discusses the ethical, social, and human costs of the domestic surrogacy industry, highlighting its exploitation of women and commodification of children. The presentation calls for a reevaluation of policies and cultural attitudes that normalize surrogacy as a commercial transaction, challenging its portrayal as an act of compassion or empowerment.
Florida couple Joshua and Natalie Strong filed a lawsuit against Brown Fertility clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, alleging the clinic used another man's sperm to create their daughter's embryo, as confirmed by DNA tests showing Joshua is not the biological father. The couple claims the clinic has not accounted for Joshua's missing sperm, refused to admit the error, and they are seeking damages exceeding $50,000 while raising concerns about the possible use of Joshua's sperm in other embryos without their knowledge.
