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Speaking Tuesday before the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations regarding the implementation of REAL ID mandates on travelers, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem displayed succinctly in one sentence her disdain for the right of Americans to travel freely and her support instead for an authoritarian approach to travel.

“But we are telling people that this law will be enforced and it will allow us to know individuals in this country who they are and that they’re authorized to travel,” declared Noem regarding the starting the next day of REAL ID enforcement on travelers. Yet, the right to travel is a fundamental right long recognized by the US government and its courts. And the right to travel is the opposite of travel being allowed only when and to whom the government decides. Further, the right to travel includes the right to travel without showing your papers, updated in the age of mass surveillance to showing your REAL ID. An apparently peaceful person going about his business should be able to continue to do so without having to identify himself to any government agent or provide proof that the government has preapproved his movement from point A to point B. That’s freedom. The Noem approach, in contrast, is authoritarianism.

Adding to the outrageousness of this defense of REAL ID Noem offered is an assertion she made just before in her comments at the subcommittee hearing. Noem said that REAL ID would be imposed on travelers on Wednesday because after years — 17 years in fact — of delay of implementation “the Biden administration chose that it should go into place on May seventh and we intend to follow the law.” Hold on: Noem is really passing the buck to the Biden administration? President Donald Trump and his administration has spent a great amount of effort — via executive orders, regulation changes, and other actions — rescinding many decrees of the Biden administration. Trump and Noem could do the same regarding REAL ID. At a minimum, they could ensure four more years of delay as administration after administration has done before. Instead, they chose to move forward with imposing REAL ID on travelers. They cannot evade any of the responsibility on this. Trump and Noem are choosing to pursue the authoritarian course.

In an act of courage and love, a young couple in Dallas made the decision to surrender their newborn at a local fire station, giving their baby a chance at a brighter future. The young mother and her boyfriend approached firefighters and explained they simply couldn’t provide for their child.

Thanks to the legal protections offered by Texas’s Baby Moses Law, their newborn is now safe—and will soon be matched with a loving adoptive family.

“I’d like to commend the parents for the choice they made,” said Dugger with Garland Fire. “This is a tough decision for any parent and to stop and think about what they could do in this situation, rather than abandoning or harming the baby, they made the right decision.”

Both the baby and mother were quickly examined by medical personnel and taken to a nearby hospital, where they were found to be healthy.

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The Baby Moses Law allows parents in Texas to legally surrender infants under 60 days old at any hospital, fire station, or police station staffed 24/7. Parents face no legal consequences or questions—only a path of hope for their child.

“If there’s a young couple or young mother on her own that thinks there’s no option of what to do with their baby there is an option. This is a great safe option to give that baby a chance at a normal healthy life,” Dugger said.

And there is no shortage of families ready to open their hearts and homes. In fact, there are an estimated 1 to 2 million families in the U.S. waiting to adopt a newborn. That means for every child placed for adoption at birth, 30 to 40 families are ready and willing to give them a loving home.

This debunks a common myth: Our foster care system will not be overwhelmed by babies placed for adoption, even if every woman considering abortion chose Life instead.

This example in Dallas shows that even in the most difficult situations, life-affirming choices are within reach. A mother can choose to lovingly place her baby in safe hands at a hospital or fire station—but she doesn’t have to walk that road alone. If she wants to raise her child and simply needs support, there are pregnancy resource centers across Texas ready to stand beside her with compassion, resources, and community.

For every young mother who feels alone or without options, there is help. There is hope. And there are families waiting with open arms.

LifeNews Note: Ashlynn Lemos is the communications intern for Texas Right to Life.

The post Newborn Saved From Infanticide After Baby Taken to Fire Department appeared first on LifeNews.com.

Let us pray and fast for the conclave!

The conclave to elect a new Pope for the Catholic Church begins on May 7 at the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

Each cardinal participating as an elector in the conclave will conduct this process in complete secrecy. They will not communicate outside the Sistine Chapel's walls once it begins.

Many cardinals, clergy, and diocesan groups asked for prayers via social media as the Catholic Church prepares to elect Saint Peter's next successor.

Here are some of the prayer requests for the conclave from the cardinals, clergy, and Catholic faithful throughout the world:

The Archdiocese of Toronto published a message from Archbishop Frank Cardinal Leo:

Message from His Eminence Frank Cardinal Leo on the Preparation for the Election of the Roman Pontiff https://t.co/Wl0U3DpEav #catholicTO pic.twitter.com/sZ9OOzFXCB

Click here if you cannot see the post above.

His Eminence Frank Cardinal Leo's message reads:

Archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, Cardinal Joe Tobin, requested the faithful to "ask the Holy Spirit" to guide the cardinals as they "discern God's will" for the new pope:

Tomorrow, I will join with the other Cardinal Electors in fulfilling our sacred responsibility to elect a new pope. During this time, I will have no communication with anyone outside the Sistine Chapel’s walls. Please ask the Holy Spirit to guide us as we discern God’s will. pic.twitter.com/ni4xyPXy1H

Click here if you cannot see the post above.

Cardinal Joe Tobin's post reads:

In an additional post, Cardinal Tobin called on Our Lady of Perpetual Help:

Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the Church of St. Alphonsus in Rome displays your icon and welcomes pilgrims for prayer. May we never hesitate to invoke your prayers and intercession, especially as we gather in conclave to discern the Holy Spirit’s choice for the next Bishop of Rome. pic.twitter.com/Zlnp5SiFmY

Click here if you cannot see the post above.

Cardinal Joe Tobin's post reads:

Archbishop of Montevideo, Uruguay, Daniel Sturla, asked for the intercession of Blessed Jacinto Vera, whose memorial the Church celebrates on May 6:

Hoy es la memoria del beato Jacinto Vera, el obispo gaucho, misionero, valiente y de buen humor que Dios regaló a la Iglesia uruguaya. Hoy es aniversario de su muerte (1881) y dos años de su beatificación. Que interceda por nuestra Iglesia y por la elección del nuevo Papa. pic.twitter.com/vg2EGqbsat

Click here if you cannot see the post above.

Archbishop Sturla's post reads:

Along with a photo of the two cardinals, Neil MacCarthy, the press secretary to Cardinal Frank Leo and Cardinal Thomas Collins of the Archdiocese of Toronto, wrote:

In a special way, we pray for our @archtoronto shepherds, Cardinal Leo & Cardinal Collins as they prepare to enter the conclave. Photo from earlier today. Told them they are being prayed for and: "I will see you when it's done unless I see you on the balcony." #Conclave2025 pic.twitter.com/IFcfENKcKs

MacCarthy's post reads:

The Manila Cathedral in the Philippines announced special rosary times and Masses they will hold as the Conclave begins. Here's the post below:

MANILA UNITES IN PRAYER FOR NEXT POPE

The Manila Cathedral is set to hold Masses and rosary prayers as the conclave begins today in the Vatican.

Masses for the new Pope will be held at 7:30 a.m. and 12:10 p.m. beginning Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales will… pic.twitter.com/LwjKE6j2Hr

Here is the text of the Manila Cathedral's announcement:

The Archdiocese of Durban in South Africa called on their followers to "earnestly pray for all the Cardinal Electors at the Conclave."

Here's the Archdiocese of Durban's post below:

Let us earnestly pray for all the Cardinal Electors at Conclave, that the Holy Spirit may both enlighten and inspire them as they gather to perform their sacred duty in electing the new Pope. https://t.co/iBcnhE0Zi6

Click here if you cannot see the post above.

The Archdiocese of Durban's post reads:

Cardinal Raymond Burke also published his novena prayer for the conclave in Latin.

Cardinal Burke recites his Novena Prayer for the Conclave to Our Lady of Guadalupe in the video below:

(Conclave Novena Prayer in Latin)
Oratio Novendialis Pro Sacro Cardinalium Collegio Romae Congregato in Conclavi Ad Romanum Pontificem Eligendum

Ad pedes tuos proiectus, O Virgo Dei Mater, Domina Nostra de Guadalupe, te supplico, mater compassiva omnium qui te amant, qui ad te… pic.twitter.com/wz6I42ujZY

Click here if you cannot see the post above.

Bishop Robert Barron also requested prayers for the conclave. He shared his EWTN News interview in his post:

Friends, as conclave preparations continue, I sat down in St. Peter’s Square with @colmflynnire, a reporter for @EWTNews, to discuss the men who may become our next pope.

Please pray for those gathered in Rome, especially the cardinal electors, who will soon elect St. Peter’s… pic.twitter.com/uTvCnhJwzx

Click here if you cannot see the post above.

Bishop Barron's post reads:

Let us pray and fast for the 2025 Papal Conclave!

The US spy agency has released recruitment videos targeting Chinese officials

Beijing has accused the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of committing a “political provocation” by releasing recruitment videos in Chinese targeting officials in the country.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated that the US “has long been using all kinds of despicable methods to steal other countries’ secrets, interfere in their internal affairs and commit subversion.”

The diplomat characterized such attempts as being in breach of “international law and basic norms governing international relations.”

“The US not only maliciously smears and attacks China, but also blatantly attempts to lure Chinese personnel, even government officials, to be their informants,” Lin said. He further pledged that Beijing would “take all measures necessary to resolutely push back infiltration and sabotage activities from overseas and defend national sovereignty, security and development interest.”

The CIA recruitment videos that were published last Thursday solicit covert cooperation from those in China who possess “information about economic, fiscal, or trade policies” or work in the “defense industry… national security, diplomacy, science [or] advanced technology.” The spy agency promised to keep its informants’ identities protected, offering instructions on how to safely make contact.

Last month, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) released a similar add, targeting CIA officers, titled ‘Your Option: Together for the Truth’. Evoking the camaraderie shared by the US and the USSR during World War II, the video called on CIA personnel to join in resolving the Ukraine conflict, describing the authorities in Kiev as tainted by neo-Nazi influences and corruption.

The video came after the CIA reached out to Russian military engineers through a clip of its own in March.

The US spy agency previously produced several other recruitment videos targeting Russia, appealing to various ethnic and social groups.

Unheard published an article on May 3, 2025 by Alexander Raikin telling the story with pseudonyms, of the Alberta family, who’s autistic daughter has been approved for euthanasia. Due to a publication ban, it is impossible to share actual names.

This story is of particular importance because Marge (MV is the name used by the court) has been approved for euthanasia again. Raikin writes:

On 31 January, 2024, Wade was running out of time. He had tried everything to persuade his 28-year-old daughter, Marge, that she could get better. But Marge had been scheduled to die by assisted suicide at 2 p.m. the next day at the family’s home in Alberta, Canada. He was horrified. Marge was autistic, vulnerable, and had no diagnosed physical illness. Her autism made her different from her peers — and lonely, no doubt — but Wade knew this was no reason to terminate a young life.

He had to do something. So he went to the courts. The legal claim he filed on that frigid winter day would put Wade on a quest no father should have to face: saving his daughter’s life from a Canadian health system that at times appears more committed to delivering death than protecting health. By taking legal action, he managed to delay Marge’s death for a while. But he may be set to lose the battle.

Raikin further explains the dilemma:

The last physician to assess her for assisted suicide, a family doctor practicing with the Alberta Health Services (AHS), took fewer than 24 hours to review and approve her application. And although the neurologist treating her for fatigue and pain assessed her as “normal”, another family doctor, unknown to her parents, declared her to be terminally ill.

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The father tells Raikin that his daughter’s only diagnosed conditions are autism and ADHD and yet she was approved for death. Raikin explains that the daughter first applied for euthanasia in 2021:

It was 2021 when Marge first filled out the form — without telling her parents — asking to die. AHS, the public health-care system, connected her with two physicians. Although one physician deemed her eligible without any diagnosed physical symptoms, according to Wade, the second denied her application, presumably because she had no terminal illness. She seems to have only met some of the requirements, although it is impossible to know for sure without access to her MAiD assessment. Alberta’s policy was that in the case of a tie, the suicide would not proceed.

Raikin explains that the daughter went doctor shopping with the intention of applying for euthanasia again:

In 2022, she went doctor-shopping. She found another physician, an Alberta family practitioner, who intervened and supported her (their clinic didn’t reply to UnHerd’s request for comment). Unknown to the family, this doctor signed a change in her “Goals of Care Designation”, which is the medical standard used in Alberta to indicate how severely ill someone is. The doctor switched it to the most extreme category, which in some Canadian provinces indicates the likelihood of imminent death; that was almost three years ago.

In 2023 the daughter was approved for death by euthanasia.

The following year, in 2023, she applied for assisted dying a second time. Once again, the two physicians consulted disagreed. (The clinics at which these two practice didn’t reply to UnHerd’s request for comment; AHS declined to comment, citing the court case.) This time, however, the so-called MAiD navigator, who sherpas patients through the process, connected Marge with a third doctor as a “tiebreaker”. The chosen physician was the same one who had approved Marge’s MAiD application the first time, and did so again, within 24 hours.

Rankin explains that the father launched a court case to save his daughters life.

Her father couldn’t understand how any doctor could think Marge was qualified to die. “I thought MAiD was for, like, you’re dying anyway. So, we’ll just speed it up because you’re suffering. That’s what I thought it was for”, he tells me. “And I’m thinking, well, how could this be for Marge?” So, the day before her “MAiD provider” was meant to pay a final house visit, when a physician and a nurse would bring the lethal but now routine injection of a sedative, a coma-inducting agent, and a neuromuscular tranquiliser, Wade filed a last-minute court challenge. He claimed that Marge did not have a “grievous and irremediable medical condition”, that her only diagnosed illnesses were mental, not physical, and that her second tie-breaking assessor was not independent.

The initial judge granted a temporary injunction that prevented the euthanasia death. The case went to court. Rankin reports that:

The judge, Justice Colin Feasby, of the Court of King’s Bench, Alberta, ruled that Marge’s father had a reasonable cause of action that the correct protocols around assisted dying weren’t followed. Marge had no terminal illness. Neither of the MAiD assessors appeared to be experts on Marge’s autism. And the independent assessor appointed as tiebreaker wasn’t, either.

The Canadian law provides no avenue for the judge to prevent a euthanasia death. Rankin reports:

Once it came to ruling on the substance of the dispute, however, the judge wouldn’t consider whether Marge qualified for assisted suicide; no evidence was accepted on even naming the condition for which she was approved. Any criminal prosecution, the judge ruled, could only happen after Marge is dead: “Parliament has put its trust in doctors and nurse practitioners, and it is not for this Court to second guess that choice.”

A court challenge was launched based on the part of the law that allows euthanasia for people who are not terminally ill. Rankin states:

In September, some of the largest Canadian disability groups launched a constitutional challenge against euthanasia based on non-terminal disabilities. The suit claimed it is an “appalling injustice” to offer suicide just on the grounds of disability. “It is not just wrong”, says Krista Carr, the executive vice president of Inclusion Canada, in an email to me. “It is discriminatory and violates our most fundamental rights.”

Rankin explains that even if the disability organizations are successful in their court challenge, that it won’t happen in time to save the autistic woman.

The father spent more than $150,000 on the court case and his daughter has been approved for euthanasia again.

LifeNews.com Note: Alex Schadenberg is the executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and you can read his blog here.

The post Canada Wants to Euthanize Couple’s Daughter Because She Has Autism appeared first on LifeNews.com.

Last year I made a resolution on Byzantine New Year to try to work on the spirituality of the “sacrament of the moment.” My predominant fault is pride, and my problem is that I become too abstract in my intellect. This abstraction divorces me from reality so that I make an idol out of my ideas. This prevents me from focusing on God’s will in the present moment, especially concerning the Second…

Source

German readers of RT remember how small acts of hope helped them rebuild their lives after the war

The fate of Germans in the aftermath of World War II continues to be a subject of reflection and discussion. The memories are as varied as the people who lived them.

Sadly, the number of eyewitnesses who can share their firsthand experiences is dwindling with each passing year. That makes it all the more important to give a voice to those who are still with us.

RT’s German-language editorial team recently reached out to its readers, inviting them to record and submit their own recollections – or the stories passed down by relatives – about the early postwar years.

From East and West, Germany and Austria, readers shared a broad range of experiences: encounters with Russian soldiers, both positive and negative, and personal reflections on the war itself. These deeply personal letters from our German readers have now been translated into English.

Letter 1: A warm loaf amid the ruins

I met Red Army soldiers for the first time in 1947, when I was just six years old.

In September of that year, I started school in the city of Chemnitz. As many know, this Saxon industrial city suffered extensive damage due to air raids carried out by British and American forces between February 6 and April 11, 1945. My route to school took me past the ruins that lined the streets on either side.

On one busy street, I often watched a Red Army soldier standing in the middle of an intersection, directing traffic. The soldier stood there regardless of rain and wind, heat and cold.

One day, as I walked home from school, I noticed a crowd gathered around a Russian truck. My curiosity piqued, I edged closer to see what was happening. Two soldiers were handing out... bread! It was freshly baked, still warm, and smelled wonderful.

One of the soldiers spotted me standing off to the side, feeling utterly lost, close to the adults who reached eagerly for the bread. Suddenly, he pointed at me, waved at me and handed me half a loaf. Overjoyed by this unexpected gift, I ran home and gave the bread to my speechless parents.

It was November 1947.

Peter M.

Letter 2: Cherries and new beginnings

I was born in June 1945, and thus you could say I celebrated the end of the war while still in my mother’s womb. My mother, born in 1921, had managed to get a job as a clerk at the Aviation Testing Center in Rechlin, located north of Berlin. My father, born in 1919, worked there too as a mechanic, repairing planes for the Eastern Front. He held no allegiance to National Socialism or the war itself. As the Soviet army closed in on Berlin, the testing center was disbanded, and my father, along with other able-bodied men, was ordered to go to Berlin.

He didn’t want to support Nazi Germany or be part of the conflict, nor did he wish to throw his life away in the dying throes of a battle already lost. He didn’t want to be forced to shoot others and carry that degrading burden for the rest of his life. Meanwhile, his pregnant wife had to travel alone through perilous roads to get to her in-laws in the relatively safe Sauerland. He wanted to be with her, and dreamed of a new life once the madness of the war was over, hoping to take part in the political revival of his hometown.

As a child, he suffered a knee injury that wasn’t too troublesome unless he bumped it hard enough for it to swell significantly. In those moments, he had a desperate idea: to hit his knee with a log to provoke the swelling. When the military doctor examined him, he scribbled a note: “Gefreiter Hesse – to the nearest military hospital.” That played a vital role. He kept his pistol with him, just in case he encountered the “chain dogs” – i.e., the military police. Fortunately, he never crossed paths with them; he rode his bicycle to Schleswig-Holstein, a peaceful region occupied by British troops. There, he changed into civilian clothes and spent a few weeks working on a farm before making his way to the military hospital in Sauerland. He arrived just in time to witness the final days of his wife’s pregnancy and my birth in a hospital that wasn’t destroyed in the war.

In the spring of ‘45, the cherry tree in our garden bloomed uncommonly early, gifting my mother with a big plate of cherries. The hospital bill for her two-week stay, the delivery of the baby, and the week-long stay with the baby amounted to 79.92 Reichsmarks. I still have that handwritten note from the doctor along with the bill. Since then, the cherry tree has never bloomed that early again.

Reinhard Hesse

Letter 3: Rice, sugar, and a lifesaving act of kindness

I’m Austrian, and I’ll turn 80 this November, which means I was born after the war ended. Lower Austria was part of the Russian occupation zone, and we rented a house in the village of Reidling in the Tulln district. The wife of a Russian officer lived in the same house with her young daughter. They occupied just one room, so they were given the best apartment in Sitzenberg-Reidling. This woman saved my life!

When I was only a few weeks old, my mother was devastated to learn that I had a severe intestinal infection. The Russian woman heard about my mother’s plight and sent her a full bag of rice and sugar. My mother sorted through the rice and made me porridge. That saved me. I will always be grateful to that kind and compassionate woman!

Later, as an adult, I learned Russian at language courses offered by Swiss television. I now live in Vorarlberg, near the Swiss border. I needed Russian for my work as a foreign correspondent. I still work in that capacity, though now not with Russia but with Uzbekistan. But my Russian skills still come in handy. Unfortunately, it’s currently impossible to work with Russia due to anti-Russia sanctions. I’ve only been to Russia once – I visited Saint Petersburg to attend language courses.

Saint Petersburg is a dream city! I would love to visit Russia again and see Moscow. I sincerely hope that Western countries will reconsider their absurd Russophobia. Here in Europe, we need to unite with Russia. Bringing together all these diverse and rich cultures, along with their many languages, would be wonderful!

Marie-Louise D.

Letter 4: Songs, bread, and a friendship across borders

By the time the war ended, I was seven years old, and I started school around Easter of 1944. American troops had entered our hometown of Aschersleben. Before we children could even take a good look at them, they were already gone. Soon after, the Russians arrived. I still remember a Nazi poster depicting a bear in a hat with a red star reaching out to grab a woman with children – that’s how they portrayed the Russians back then.

Later, the Russian soldiers came in trucks, armored vehicles, on foot, and in other transportation. As they passed by our house, they sang. It was clear that these soldiers had gone through the whole war. I didn’t understand the words, but they sounded beautiful in their own way. Fear lingered in our hearts, however.

We were ordered to temporarily host them in our home. My parents cleared out the children’s room, and the three of us moved to our parents’ bedroom. In the children’s room the only furniture that was left was a desk, another table, and a chair.

Then they arrived – two men who, as we were told, were “captains.” Both settled in our room, bringing their own beds with them. Soon, one of them spoke to my mother in flawless German. She was so taken aback that she remained speechless, which was rare for her. He introduced himself as a teacher of German from Omsk. He began asking about the “boy” – meaning me. He mentioned that he had a son back home who was my age. He took me to their room, where a large portrait of Stalin now hung over our table. He explained that this was the commander-in-chief. Both men revered him.

Igor – the teacher from Omsk – was the first Soviet soldier I got to know. He shared stories about his homeland, read me German poems, and sometimes we sang German songs together. He asked me to correct him if he made any mistakes.

Times were tough, and food was scarce. Both officers brought us bread, butter, coal, and potatoes. In winter, my mother heated the room, and my father carried in coal, and sometimes we would eat together. They always asked for hot water for tea. A little over a year later, it was time to say goodbye. They were allowed to return home. Igor gifted me binoculars with an inscription meant to remind me of his friendship.

At school, we were taught to love the Soviet Union. It felt natural for us to honor the memory of fallen heroes at the cemetery. May 8th was a holiday for us. I was always impressed by Soviet culture. We watched Soviet films, listened to Russian choirs, and learned about amazing Russian artworks from our art teacher.

After finishing school, I acquired a profession and became an active member of the Free German Youth. In 1956, I voluntarily joined the German border police. Occasionally, I encountered Soviet soldiers. The exchange of watches was a significant event for us; every border guard took pride if they owned an “Ural” watch or something similar.

We used Soviet weapons that had been used in the war. They were still reliable. Later, I served in Zeithain and Magdeburg, where I became the commander of a SU-76 tank. During that time, we also maintained contact with the Soviet army, particularly concerning technical support.

Starting in 1978, I attended the political officer training school for the German border police. Admiration for the Soviet Union felt natural to us. We read and heard a lot of stories about Soviet border guards, the significance of the Brest Fortress during WWII, and aspired to emulate our heroes.

Jürgen Scholtyssek, Dresden

Letter 5: A helping hand on the rooftop

Seven years after the final shots of WWII faded away, I was born in Brandenburg. While I didn’t directly witness the horrors of war, I belong to a generation that still saw some of its lingering effects.

In the streets of Frankfurt an der Oder, it wasn’t uncommon to encounter war veterans with missing limbs. They moved about on crutches or navigated three-wheeled carts operated with two wooden levers. Yet, what struck me as even stranger were the massive, ruined, gloomy buildings that loomed over the city.

At six or seven years old, I had no real understanding of what had caused these ruins. In the city center, Soviet soldiers were busy scavenging for building materials. Tracked vehicles used steel cables to pull down the remaining walls of the wreckage. As children, we watched this process with great interest.

One day, those soldiers invited us over. The language barrier didn’t matter; they shared bread and soup with us. It was freshly baked, golden-brown whole grain bread, rectangular and warm.

When an opportunity arose, one of the soldiers took me up to the roof of a partially destroyed building. The nearly nonexistent staircase in that drafty building didn’t deter us. He firmly grasped my hand and helped me navigate the structure. Up on the roof, where various plants grew in the cracks, I encountered many unfamiliar sights and I remain grateful to him for that experience.

These brief encounters deeply influenced how I perceived the “Russians”. I didn’t sense any hostility, arrogance, or rejection from them. “Mama est?” (Do you have a mother?), “Papa est?” (Do you have a father?), “Brat est?” (Do you have a brother?) were the first Russian words I learned.

Dr. Wolfgang Biedermann, Berlin

Letter 6: Loss, shame, and the search for a better Germany

I was born in January 1947. My family’s military background profoundly shaped my early years. Like many Russian, French, and Greek families, I lost four uncles – my father’s and mother’s brothers – who died as a result of their involvement with the Wehrmacht on the front lines of the German war machine. I also lost several distant relatives. The pain of losing so many loved ones accompanied me throughout my childhood. My father survived the war with severe injuries. For my grandparents and our extended family, the cause of the war was clear: it was, to quote them, the “unhealthy spirit of Hitler” and there was no doubt that we Germans bore full responsibility for the war and the inhumane suffering inflicted upon Europe.

You ask if the end of the war brought liberation and a fresh start for Germans. It certainly felt like a release—primarily from Hitler and the Allied bombers. We were poor; everyone was poor – but that wasn’t terrifying. The important thing was that the war was over. The “unhealthy spirit of Hitler” and its destructive aftermath remained hot topics of discussion in our family for years. Stuttgart, where we lived, was first occupied by the French and later by Americans, and this had a significant impact on me. As a child, I was terrified of soldiers and would hide from every jeep – they seemed to be everywhere. Today, Stuttgart is home to the headquarters of US European Command (EUCOM) and US Africa Command (AFRICOM), so we still have a strong American military presence.

For the adults in my large family, the fall of Hitler’s regime brought great relief, but it came with a sense of shame: after all, the Nazi regime collapsed not because of the moral strength of the Germans, but as a result of the country’s (well-deserved) defeat in the war. Losing the war didn’t feel like a disaster, but the catastrophe caused by a world war – with its countless victims, suffering, and destruction – was certainly a disaster. In our family, it was often said that if Germany hadn’t lost, Hitler and his accomplices would still be committing their atrocities today.

My father felt strongly that we Germans needed to reconcile with our former “enemies” and seek forgiveness from the victims. He actively participated in this effort. The remilitarization of Germany was firmly rejected, and Adenauer’s policies in regard to the West were met with serious skepticism, even outright opposition. None of those around me wanted to join NATO.

As I grew up in the 1960s, I was shocked to see how many Nazis – protected by Adenauer – still held important positions. Many had escaped accountability and taken on new identities; some were shielded by like-minded individuals despite their criminal past. The judicial system was very slow to carry out justice: many cases were ignored, and numerous investigations stalled.

Then, Fritz Bauer was killed after the Auschwitz trials. Former Nazis could once again hold positions of Chancellor (Kiesinger) and Prime Minister (Filbinger). It seemed half of the older generation had “skeletons in the closet”. This leads to another answer to your question about “liberation”: there was no genuine “liberation” because the perpetrators remained among us.

However, Willy Brandt and Egon Bahr, with their determination and the slogan “We want to dare more democracy” gave us Germans the chance to build a better world. We tried and seized those opportunities, for which I am deeply grateful.

Now, however, former militarism, group intolerance, and a fierce thirst for power have resurfaced once again. War and violence are destroying lives in many parts of the world, once again, the Germans are directly involved. And so, my faith is rapidly fading.

Rosemarie K.

A radical organization that facilitates abortions for minors has sued the state of Missouri to fully remove all parental consent laws, stating they blatantly violate the Constitution.

Laws requiring adults to be involved in the lives of pregnant minors “bully pregnant young people without parental support into giving birth and threaten legal action against and undermine the core activities of Good Samaritans who seek to help young people effectuate their own decisions about their pregnancies with dignity,” according to a 59-page legal brief filed in the circuit court of Jackson County, Missouri, by Right By You.

The lawsuit cites Amendment 3, passed last November, which established a woman’s state constitutional “right to make decisions about reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives.” Missouri’s amendment also says it allows regulation after viability, with a broad exception for the alleged “health” of the mother. It passed with a bare majority of votes.

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“Before Election Day, the abortion lobby insisted Amendment 3 would not take away parents’ rights. Now they’re suing so girls who aren’t old enough to get their ears pierced on their own can have an abortion without their parents,” said Kelsey Pritchard, political communications director for SBA Pro-Life America.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) denounced the lawsuit as “a shameful and dangerous attempt by radicals hell-bent on the destruction of innocent life to undermine not only parental rights but also the health and safety of young women.”

The measure’s vague language mirrored that of an initiative approved by Ohio voters in November 2023, Issue 1. Three weeks after the election, Ohio House Democrats introduced the so-called “Reproductive Care Act” (H.B. 343), which stated that “reproductive health care … means gender affirming care.”

The court’s location in Kansas City, Missouri, seems auspicious, as undercover investigators in December 2023 seemingly caught a local abortion facility aiding and abetting an abortion that could conceal statutory rape from the victim’s parents. Video footage appears to show a woman identified as “Lashauna,” the managing director of a local Planned Parenthood facility, offering to give an adult male a doctor’s excuse he can use to smuggle a 13-year-old girl across state lines to obtain an abortion without her parents’ knowledge or consent. “In Planned Parenthood we consider you [a 13-year-old child] an adult,” the employee says. “You can make the decision, then we got you.” She added, “We never tell the parents anything. She’s an adult in our clinics.”

Pritchard said the lawsuit had a certain kind of merit. “The abortion lobby’s litigation reveals the end goal of pro-abortion ballot measures. Rather than protecting a ‘decision between a woman and her doctor,’ these amendments protect abortion business’ profits at the expense of girls and their parents.”

LifeNews Note: Ben Johnson is senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand.

The post Abortion Activists Want to Take Teen Girls to Other States for Secret Abortions appeared first on LifeNews.com.

As abortion totals in the United States hover above one million lives lost in 2024, the need for pregnancy help services is greater than ever. Fortunately, the pace of news surrounding center networks in the United States and even overseas remains brisk, and plans for expansion are ambitious.

Last week in Birmingham, Alabama, members of Heartbeat International, the largest of the network organizations, gathered from 44 American states and more than 20 countries worldwide to educate one another, share encouraging projects, and craft strategies for countering a worldwide culture of death. The annual meeting drew 1,600 in-person participants and hundreds more attending sessions online with experts in medicine, ultrasound technology, marketing, development, communications, parenting education, and other sectors.

Heartbeat International has convened conferences for more than half a century since its founding in 1971 as Alternatives to Abortion International. From modest but visionary beginnings under the leadership of Dr. John Hillabrand, Lore Maier, and Sister Paula Vandegaer, Heartbeat has acquired massive scope today despite politically-oriented attacks and litigation from elements of the abortion industry that chafe at the provision of life-affirming options for women and families in need. Delivering a fresh report in Birmingham, Heartbeat President Jor-El Godsey reported impressive figures on the network’s accomplishments:

• Having 3,647 pregnancy help affiliates around the world, with 1,357 of them overseas;
• Carrying out 2,164,043 in-person client visits at affiliated centers in 2024;
• Initiating 1,924 abortion pill reversal attempts, approaching an average of 200 reversal starts each month, now totaling nearly 7,000 babies saved and mothers helped, via this medical protocol;
• Building the abortion pill rescue (APR) network worldwide to comprise more than 1,000 providers, clinics, and pharmacies;
• Linking with 498 residential maternity homes, an increase of 17% since 2022;
• Conducting 800 online learning opportunities via its Reach and Rescue project, with 11,402 active participants in the Heartbeat Academy;
• Advancing PregnancyHelpNews.com as a vital news source on developments on today’s issues and pro-life responses, with 211,775 page views at its website;
• Surpassing $10 million in revenue and expenditures while keeping total fundraising and administrative expenses at 20%.

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Heartbeat has managed to achieve these goals in the face of constant pressure from abortion exponents like the State of California, the administration of Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul in New York, and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts (D), a state where total abortions grew by more than 37% during the most recent reporting year. Many of the attacks are focused on the APR procedure, as apparently the very idea of a woman choosing to change her mind after starting an abortion offends the abortion industry’s agenda. As Godsey explains regarding Heartbeat’s mission and determination, “It is the pregnancy help movement that has stood the strongest against abortion even as the United States was plunged into the darkness of the Roe v. Wade decision. Pregnancy help outreach was successful even when the laws weren’t, rescuing hundreds of thousands of lives each year.”

Heartbeat’s impressive efforts are part of a diverse and growing movement of organizations that have tracked their combined impact since 2009 when Family Research Council published the first pregnancy center national report, “A Passion to Serve, a Vision for Life: Pregnancy Resource Center Service Report 2009.” FRC produced a second edition of the national report in 2011 called “A Passion to Serve: How Pregnancy Centers Empower Women, Help Families, and Strengthen Communities.” From the beginning, these service reports represented a collaborative effort among an array of networks, including Care Net and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates. After the second edition, FRC generously allowed the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), the research arm of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, to take on the project of compiling service reports, which have now covered the years 2018, 2020, and 2022 in what CLI calls its “Legacy of Life and Love Series.”

The most recent of these reports, subtitled “Hope for a New Generation,” was updated in December 2024 and benefits from information provided by Option Ultrasound at Focus on the Family, Birthright, Human Coalition, and by several groups dedicated to the production and distribution of medical mobile units (MMUs). These include Save the Storks, ICU Mobile, and a newer group called Vans for Life that take their services out to their clientele, often helping to relieve the challenge of maternity care deserts where obstetrical care is of limited availability. “Hope for a New Generation” offers encouraging data drawn from 2,750 pregnancy centers and mobile units in all 50 states on the service levels being achieved through these networks:

• Participating centers recorded more than 16 million client visits, in person and virtually, in 2022;
• Centers provided over $358 million worth of goods and services to clients, including diapers, baby formula, new car seats, baby clothing, and furniture;
• New clients for the year tallied 974,000, and more than 600,000 students took part in community-based education presentations;
• More than 97% of women and men who obtained assistance at pregnancy centers reported they had a positive experience, in sharp contrast with recent patient and employee experiences at Planned Parenthood, according to The New York Times;
• Provision of key services by centers continued to grow as, for example, the percentage point increase in the number of centers offering ultrasounds grew by three percent to 82%, sexually transmitted disease testing grew by six percent to 36%, sexually transmitted disease treatment by seven percent to 28%, lactation consulting by eight percent to 27%, and abortion pill reversal by 16% to 27%.

Clearly, there are needs and room for additional service growth, which can occur via multiple pathways. Fresh synergy could emerge through the recent merger of ICU Mobile and Care Net. Care Net was established as a successor organization to Christian Action Council which was established in the 1970s. It describes itself “as a gospel-centered ministry that builds strong families, promotes marriage and fatherhood, and connects people to their local churches for ongoing care and discipleship.” Care Net operates 1,200 centers nationwide and has regularly compiled national reports on its patient and service totals.

The Akron, Ohio-based ICU Mobile likewise states its mission is gospel-centered and focused on encouraging women to embrace “God’s gift of life.” It operates 38 mobile units that partner with 37 pregnancy center affiliates in 21 states. The units record 1,600 decisions made for Christ and 21,000 clients who made decisions for life with ICU Mobile’s help.

Finally, and perhaps with the greatest potential for growth, there is the range of public funding options becoming available to expand pregnancy help center work. In an ideal world, states would compete to establish preeminence in pregnancy care to ensure that women can receive positive counseling, obtain early prenatal care, and access a range of help, including child care and employment training. Over time, the gap would become even clearer than it is now between states that view unexpected pregnancy as a burden to be discarded or a boon to be treasured. As noted elsewhere, major improvements need to be made in U.S. pregnancy data collection to allow comprehensive measurements of states’ success in maternity care and infant thriving, but the means to conduct such examinations will be crucial to all the policy and program evaluations of the future.

One particular program deserves extra mention now, the state of Arkansas’s $2 million appropriation signed into law last week by Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Funds under the bill can go to pregnancy help groups, adoption agencies, maternity homes, and other entities that help women make decisions for life. According to the Arkansas Family Council, the funding is flexible enough to permit grants to charities that focus on maternal and infant nutrition through distribution of prenatal vitamins, referral to Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programs, food pantries, and other community resources. The funding is just the latest measure in a string of enactments in Arkansas designed to reach women in need on a timely basis.

The search for model policy sets will continue, with everything from child and adoption tax credits to enhanced child support enforcement in the mix. Reducing a substantial percentage of America’s sky-high abortion rate will not be easy and will require legal changes in addition to enhanced social service supports. Peggy Hartshorn, a driving force behind the pregnancy center movement as the longtime leader of Heartbeat International, put it best when she said, “God will use people from every walk of life, every profession, every business background, no matter what it is. He doesn’t call the equipped; He equips the called.” On the conference’s final day, the international audience honored her as she accepted a new role as president emeritus of Heartbeat and offered this encouragement: “With the challenges we face after the Dobbs ruling, these days feel like the period immediately after Roe v. Wade. It seems daunting, but I see hope in what God has done for us. God is working through His people. We can prevail if we continue together towards tomorrow, trusting in the Lord.”

For 54 years, Heartbeat International and life advocates everywhere have endeavored to provide this equipment to dedicated women and men around the world not to walk with families for a day but for a lifetime. By measure of the events last week in Birmingham, this vocation for life continues its constant renewal.

LifeNews Note: Chuck Donovan is a 50-year veteran of the national debate over the right to life and served from 1981-89 as a writer in the Reagan White House.He is the former Executive Vice President of Family Research Council.

The post Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers Helped More Than 2.1 Million People Last Year appeared first on LifeNews.com.

Hungarians will decide whether to support Kiev’s accession to the EU without external influence, according to the prime minister

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky would like to see a pro-Kiev government in Budapest that will approve his country’s accession to the EU, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has claimed. He has vowed to ensure that Hungarian politics remains free from external pressure.

Ukraine formally applied to join the bloc in February 2022, following the escalation of hostilities with Russia. Membership requires the unanimous approval of all current EU member states.

In a post on X on Monday, Orban’s spokesperson, Zoltan Kovacs, quoted the Hungarian leader as saying during a parliamentary session that “Zelensky wants a Ukraine-friendly government [installed] in Hungary.” Orban further suggested that the Ukrainian leader had reached an agreement with Brussels on Kiev’s accelerated EU accession, and now expects Hungary to rubber-stamp it.

Orban stressed that “there will never be a situation where Kiev or Brussels dictates how Hungarians exercise their rightful sovereignty,” and repeated his arguments that Ukraine’s accession would be ruinous for Hungary’s economy.

He urged Hungarians to take part in Voks 2025, which is a consultative vote featuring a single question: “Do you support Ukraine’s European Union membership?”

Addressing lawmakers in parliament, Orban also accused the opposition Democratic Coalition, whom he branded the “agents of Brussels,” of seeking to “remove Hungary’s national government, bring Ukraine into the EU, drag Hungary into the war [and] unleash migrants on us.”

Last Friday, the Hungarian prime minister lambasted Brussels’ plans to admit Ukraine into the bloc by 2030 – a target recently referenced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Zelensky responded by citing domestic polling in Hungary and claiming that “70% support Ukraine joining the EU. That means people in Hungary are with us.”

However, the poll conducted by the opposition Tisza Party to which Zelensky referred actually indicated only 58% support, while an earlier survey produced a figure even lower, at 47%.

In a post on X, Orban emphasized that “there is no Ukrainian EU accession without Hungary,” promising that “every Hungarian will have their say on this. Whether you like it or not.”

The Hungarian government has long criticized the EU’s policies on the Ukraine conflict, including weapons deliveries to Kiev and sanctions against Moscow.

The U.S. birth rate has been declining for nearly two decades and currently stands well below replacement level, but President Donald Trump is reportedly endeavoring to address this issue. Various ideas fielded by the Trump administration have included reserving a substantial portion of government-funded scholarships for married men and women, funding education programs centered on the relationship between a woman’s menstrual cycle and fertility, and possibly even awarding mothers $5,000 per baby delivered. The latter suggestion has become something of a focal point in news reports and social media commentary.

While it’s encouraging to see the Trump administration turn its attention to making American families great again, financial incentives have proven to only temporarily boost birth rates, and even then, not by the most significant margins. In fact, most countries that have implemented financial incentive programs in a bid to start a baby boom have actually seen long-term declines in their birth rates. Countries like Australia, China, Estonia, Finland, and Japan all have tax breaks and financial bonuses ready for moms, but Australia’s total fertility rate (TFR) has fallen to 1.5, China’s to 1.0, Estonia’s to 1.31, Finland’s to 1.25, and Japan’s to 1.26, all well below the 2.1 needed to maintain population stability and, in almost all cases, representing historic lows.

Economic factors are, of course, an important consideration in raising a family, but cash incentives clearly don’t always work. Instead of considering the U.S. birth rate alone and attempting to temporarily boost its sagging numbers, the Trump administration may be better served focusing its attention on creating an environment in which Americans want to and are enabled, encouraged, and empowered to raise families. Here are two suggestions.

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1. Bolster Public Safety

Most parents will attest that they frequently worry about their child’s safety. Child locks and electric outlet coverings are common in homes with small children, to be replaced with parents’ requests such as “Text me when you get there!” as those small children grow up. But electric sockets and traffic collisions aren’t the only sources of danger in this world.

Crime rates — especially violent crime rates — have skyrocketed in the U.S. Between 2020 and 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recorded a 30% spike in murders, the highest ever increase in homicides recorded in a single year. Murders continued to increase nationwide in subsequent years, along with rape, assault, robbery, and other violent crimes. As alarming as those numbers are, the FBI’s statistics didn’t even include numbers from some of the most violent U.S. cities, like Chicago, Los Angeles, or New York City.

Data linking declining birth rates to increasing crime rates is scant, but not nonexistent. Of course, it’s easy enough to conclude that men and women may be more hesitant to raise vulnerable children in areas where crime is prevalent, but some numbers suggest the same. A 2015 study conducted by the World Bank found that the perceived safety of a woman’s environment influences her decisions regarding family life. While the study did not center on U.S. cities, it did examine the impact that violent crime has on several metropolitan areas around the globe, concluding that violent crime erodes social cohesion and increases stress and anxiety, particularly for women living in the studied locales, and significantly influences the decisions that women in particular make about their lives, including their families.

Another global study, this one from U.N.-Habitat, reached similar conclusions, finding that high crime rates overwhelmingly negatively impact the quality of life for families, especially for women and children. A few years prior, another U.N.-Habitat study focused specifically on the relationship between high crime rates and quality of life for families. According to the study, high crime rates often increased financial burdens for families — through necessitating the purchase of security devices, medical bills for family members who became victims of violent crimes, etc. — and fostered economic instability and insecurity, making it difficult for families to sustain themselves.

A common trope in American society is that of moving to the suburbs to start and raise a family, leaving the big cities and their crime and chaos behind for more peaceful prospects. But even these more peaceful prospects have fallen prey to burgeoning crime across the U.S. Fewer and fewer American locales are safe havens from crime, whether it be drug crises, robberies, riots, or gang warfare.

The president pledged on the campaign trail last year to “make America safe again” and has already taken steps to achieve this. Illegal border crossings have plummeted to record lows and the deportation of illegal immigrants, many of whom have made headlines over the past several years for excessively violent crimes, is under way. However, many blue states and Democrat-led cities have implemented and maintain “soft-on-crime” policies, tolerating theft, drug offenses, and other crimes and creating an environment of squalor, urban decay, and even violence. No parent wants to raise a child in such an environment.

Targeting “soft-on-crime” executives and administrators, implementing standards to compel state and local authorities to uphold criminal laws and statutes, and working with Congress to ensure nationwide consistency on common and serious crimes would not only help make America safe again, but would further facilitate an America in which moms and dads want to have and raise children.

2. Reshore American Jobs

There are, once again, very few studies that demonstrate a direct link between U.S. manufacturing or production jobs and the U.S. birth rate, but both have declined noticeably over the past two decades. A 2019 University of Wisconsin-Madison study did draw a correlation between the two, analyzing birth data from 1991 to 2014 across 381 metropolitan areas and finding that areas with a higher concentration of production and manufacturing jobs also had higher birth rates. Economic stability and security are tremendous benefits when raising a family and are so crucial that they approach the point of necessity. Dads need to be able to provide for their children, and a decent paycheck for dad also allows mom to stay home and tend to the children.

In recent years especially, the U.S. has become inundated with cheap, low-quality products manufactured overseas. Too many manufacturing and production jobs have also gone overseas, resulting in a dearth of such jobs in the U.S. Instead, America has become a leader in service-sector jobs, low-paying positions with a high turnover rate — nearly double the national average. In addition to relatively low wages and long, unpredictable hours, such jobs provide little to no long-term stability. Is it any surprise that the declining U.S. birth rate has coincided with the loss of good-quality manufacturing and production jobs? American families need American jobs and American wages.

Once again, the president has already begun to deliver in this area. The “Liberation Day” tariffs previously announced by the president will, many experts predict, bring manufacturing and production jobs back to the U.S. As other economists have warned, there may be short-term economic difficulties and temporarily rising prices, but the long-term benefits for the nation may be substantial. In addition to his tariff agenda, the president may consider imposing restrictions on H-1B visas (which allow American employers to hire noncitizens as employees at a fraction of the wage employers would be legally required to pay Americans), granting tax breaks to employers for hiring American citizens, and decrease regulations on the transport and sale of American-made products and goods.

Ensuring that Americans can obtain fulfilling, well-paying jobs that contribute meaningfully to society will establish a stable, steady foundation upon which Americans can build their families.

LifeNews Note: S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.

The post Two Ways the Trump Admin Can Help Americans Have More Babies appeared first on LifeNews.com.

When the world shut down during the COVID pandemic in 2020, devout Catholic and Mexican celebrity Eduardo Verástegui began live-streaming himself praying the Rosary on social media every day.

His intention? Uniting a million people in prayer. This venture went on for around two years.

Eduardo Verástegui said:

He continued in Spanish, saying what he would pray for:

Here's a video of Eduardo Verástegui praying the rosary at Saint Peter's Basilica for the papal election:

Let us join Eduardo Verástegui in prayer for the Catholic Church's future pope!