International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has targeted Pacific Island countries in its efforts to advance abortion and its other signature issues, especially for youth. It was recently announced that the Government of the Solomon Islands is partnering with IPPF to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). The partnership permits IPPF to function as the "executing agency" on behalf of the government to advance SRHR across the provinces. The abortion group intends to hold meetings with national ministries, NGOs, medical associations and faith based groups to develop a plan "to achieve SRHR for all citizens by 2020".  

The Solomon Islands is currently attending the meeting of the U.N. Commission on Population and Development where it is one of the most strident promoters of IPPF's recommendations for CPD, including access to abortion and "universal access to reproductive and sexual health and rights." The Solomon Islands currently allows abortion only for a life of the mother exception. 

A recent workshop sponsored by IPPF spurred the Cooks Islands to create a new Parliamentary Group on Population and Sustainable Development to work on SRHR. IPPF partners with UNFPA to create parliamentary working groups on population, development and reproductive health in legislatures around the world.  

The declaration was signed by mostly leaders and officials of pro-abortion organizations including Ipas, IPPF, Marie Stopes, and the Global Fund for Women with very few government officials endorsing the document. It was issued "against the backdrop of the 20-year review by the United Nations of the Program of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo and global debates about the post-2015 development agenda."

The Commission on Population and Development is currently meeting to evaluate progress on the ICPD Programme of Action which was enacted in Cairo in 1994. MORE 

The Council of Europe's Committee of Social Rights has voted to uphold a complaint by International Planned Parenthood (IPPF) against Italy's conscientious objection laws.  IPPF filed the complaint in 2012, arguing that too many Italian doctors were refusing to perform abortions, as permitted by Italian sovereign law. IPPF claimed that the practice of conscientious objection was a "violation of the right to health ... due to inadequate protection of the right to access procedures for the termination of pregnancy."

According to the Italian government, about 70 percent of Italian doctors opt out of abortions. The Council voted to side with IPPF by a vote of 13 to 1. Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro, head of the Rome office of Human Life International, noted the danger of the ruling on conscience rights. "The ruling will increase the already heavy pressure to change the law," he said. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) reversed its policy and acknowledged that legalizing abortion does not make it "safe". The WHO's recent Bulletin featured an editorial that stated, "WHO has historically used a pragmatic operational construct that measures safety in terms of only one dimension-legality-in developing its regional and global estimates of rates of unsafe abortions". The editorial went on to admit that "illegal abortion is not synonymous with unsafe abortion".  This truth, long espoused by the pro-life movement, is a welcome admission by the abortion supporting organization. Abortion is never safe for the baby and poses serious risks to the mother's physical and mental health. 

Around the world, celebrations were held on March 25th, the International Day of the Unborn Child, to celebrate the inherent human dignity of the unborn child. Pro-life advocates marked the day with marches, liturgies, demonstrations, and events to demonstrate support for laws and policies that protect the unborn child from abortion and offer care and support for his or her mother.

Pope John Paul II first initiated the day of remembrance, which coincides with Feast of the Annunciation, celebrating the moment when the angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ. El Salvador was the first country to officially recognize a "Day of the Right to Be Born" in 1993 while the first "Day of the Unborn" was officially recognized in Argentina in 1999. 

The International Day of the Unborn Child has grown rapidly, with celebrations held throughout the month of March and official government recognition growing. Commemorations of the day included events in Australia, Austria, Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Israel, Italy, Nicaragua, Poland, Peru, Paraguay, the Philippines, Slovakia, Spain, Uruguay, the United States, and the United Kingdom. MORE

Legislators are calling for action after a recent investigation revealed that bodies of aborted babies being used to heat hospitals. It was reported that in the last two years, 15,500 unborn babies were incinerated by 27 NHS trusts. In the House of Lords, Lord Alton of Liverpool tabled a question asking the government to report when it knew this was occurring and what action it planned to take against those responsible. Lord Alton said this revelation, "graphically illustrates our complete indifference to the intrinsic value and worth of every life." 

In the House of Commons, an Early Day Motion was introduced to bring attention to the abhorrent practice and call for action on it. The motion reads, "That this House is deeply concerned about recent reports of the incineration of foetal remains by NHS trusts, two of which were found to have burnt the bodies of aborted or miscarried foetuses and babies to generate power for heat; and calls on the Care Quality Commission to investigate fully UK hospitals to understand how widespread this practice has been." Unfortunately, only 14 MPs have signed onto the motion. 

A U.S. congressional hearing on March 25th highlighted the first 1,000 days of life--from conception to the second birthday--and the benefits of aid programs that focus on health and nutrition for women and children during this "critical window of opportunity". The hearing--"The First One Thousand Days: Development Aid Programs to Bolster Health and Nutrition"-- was before the House Global Health Subcommittee and received testimony from experts on efforts to reduce malnutrition and improve health outcomes. Committee Chairman Rep. Chris Smith stated, "There is perhaps no wiser investment that we could make in the human person than to concentrate on ensuring that sufficient nutrition and health assistance is given during the first one thousand days of life."

In his opening statement Rep. Smith explained the critical need to focus on nutrition during this time period, "Children who do not receive adequate nutrition in utero are more likely to experience lifelong cognitive and physical deficiencies, such as stunting. UNICEF estimates that one in four children worldwide is stunted due to lack of adequate nutrition. Children who are chronically undernourished within the first two years of their lives also often have impaired immune systems that are incapable of protecting them against life-threatening ailments, such as pneumonia and malaria."

PNCI believes that the elimination of malnutrition during the first 1,000 days of life, and for adolescent girls and all women of child-bearing age, will not only save the lives of women and children and contribute to their well-being, but will improve the economic potential of countries and ought to be at the center of sustainable development. Healthy children become healthy adults who are better equipped to make meaningful contributions to their families, society and country.

PNCI includes the First 1000 Days of Life among its advocacy issues.

Watch the hearing and read the statements here.  

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas has upheld regulations of abortion inducing drugs. The court's ruling upholds Texas law HB2, specifically provisions requiring that abortion drugs are regulated according to FDA protocols and mandating that abortion doctors must have admitting privileges at a local hospital. The legislation was passed last fall and has since been challenged by abortion groups. "Women in Texas will now be protected from abortion industry misuse of life-ending drugs and will be provided greater protections from deadly events inside under-regulated, under-monitored and under-supervised clinics, run by profiteers," said Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest. Currently, 14 states have regulations on abortion drugs and an additional 4 states are considering them. The Center for Reproductive Rights has filed a new challenge to the ruling. 

The Chinese city of Guangzhou has had to suspend its "baby hatch"after being overwhelmed with abandoned infants. The program permits parents to leave babies anonymously at the Guangzhou Child Welfare Centre, where workers can then provide the babies with care. The center's workload has doubled since the hatch opened in January. The center's director Xu Jiu reports that all of the babies abandoned to them have a type of illness, and 67% are under one year old. While abandoning a baby is illegal in China, baby hatch programs have begun to spread as more families struggle under the country's erroneous one-child policy.  According to the China Centre for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA), there are 25 baby hatches across China. Further, the ministry of civil affairs announced last year there would be more opening up in another 18 provinces and big cities by 2015.