U.S. bishops celebrate pro-life pregnancy centers for Pregnancy Help Appreciation Week

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is marking Pregnancy Help Appreciation Week by celebrating the work of pro-life pregnancy resource centers, which offer life-affirming support to pregnant women and mothers of young children in need.

“We express our sincere gratitude for all those who work to provide necessary resources to women, babies, and families during pregnancy and beyond,” Bishop Daniel Thomas, chair of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said in an Oct. 27 statement.

“Pregnancy help organizations, maternity homes, medical and resource help centers, and adoption agencies provide heroic services every day to anyone in need,” he said. “Many pregnancy care centers offer free medical services, including ultrasounds, prenatal and postnatal care, and referrals for free or low-cost childbirth.”

“They also provide resources such as baby clothes and diapers, childcare, career services, referrals for housing, and much more,” the bishop said.

Pregnancy Help Appreciation Week, which will be celebrated from Nov. 9-13 this year, is a celebration created by Heartbeat International — a network of pregnancy centers that offer pregnancy help as an alternative to abortion clinics.

A report published last November by the Charlotte Lozier Institute found that in 2024, pro-life pregnancy resource centers provided over $452 million worth of support to women in crisis pregnancies and struggling women with young children, including medical care, support and education services, and material goods.

The bishops’ statement noted that about 2,750 life-affirming pregnancy centers currently operate in the United States.

To mark the celebration, Thomas also recognized “the life-changing help being provided by the countless volunteers in our parishes that accompany vulnerable women and families through our nationwide Walking with Moms in Need initiative,” a parish-based initiative, created by the bishops, to provide support to pregnant women and mothers who need support.

“May all those who serve and protect life be encouraged by our prayers, our good works and our financial support to build a culture of life,” the bishop said.

Florida attorney general talks fetal personhood with Lila Rose

Republican Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who is Catholic, discussed the prospect of “fetal personhood” — the belief that unborn children should be legally recognized as persons at the moment of conception — on a podcast this month with Live Action President Lila Rose.

When Rose — who is also Catholic — asked Uthmeier whether there will be a day when abortion has fully come to an end in Florida, Uthmeier told her: “I certainly pray so; I do believe we have the truth on our side and the truth will prevail.”

“But we as faith-driven people, as pro-life advocates, weʼve got to continue going out and educating and explaining, getting people to soften their hearts and listen,” he said.

Uthmeier discussed his opposition to surrogacy and expressed concerns about people coming to Florida to “purchase a baby.” He called the practice “very dangerous and horrific,” but said he hopes it can raise discussions about whether this is a form of slavery.

“It is going to bring the conversation of fetal personhood and life front and center,” Uthmeier said. “Is this a human being? Which I believe truthfully, factually, the answer is unequivocally yes. If it is a human being, you cannot contract to buy and sell this individual.”

Pro-life activists mark 59 years since UK’s Abortion Act

In London on Oct. 27, pro-life advocates gathered in Parliament Square to mark 59 years since the passing of the UK’s Abortion Act, which legalized abortion in England, Wales, and Scotland under certain conditions.

More than 11 million abortions have taken place in the UK since the act was passed, according to government statistics compiled by Right To Life UK.

Bede Teeton from March For Life UK told EWTN News: “It is our duty to commemorate those who have been affected by abortion, and those who have sadly lost their lives through it too.”

Former Conservative MP Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg told EWTN News: “59 years ago was a black day in the civilization of the UK. We did something that was fundamentally wrong, and itʼs gotten worse. We now allow abortion up to birth. We kill disabled babies because they are disabled. Society is quite schizophrenic about this, because we all have all sorts of disability rights acts, but then we murder disabled babies. So I think it is a day of infamy.”

Pro-life runners complete global relay

Thousands of pro-life runners cumulatively completed a 5,124-mile relay this week, which concluded at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, with the men’s and the women’s cross-country and track teams finishing the final stretch.

The 2026 A-Cross America Relay, which is organized by the pro-life organization LifeRunners, had 26,257 participants in 4,061 cities across 53 nations. EWTN Global Catholic Network was a sponsor of the event.

Many of the runners wore jerseys displaying the Trinity and a cross with “Jer. 1:5,” written on it, in reference to the Bible verse: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.”

The jersey displays the text, “REMEMBER The Unborn,” as runners seek to promote a culture of life to the public in every location they run.

Elliot Hartley contributed to this article.