WASHINGTON - The head of the U.S. bishops' pro-life committee Aug. 3 urged U.S. senators to take the federal money that goes to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and instead fund women's health care providers that do not promote abortion.

OTTAWA - Pro-life groups and at least one pro-life Member of Parliament have condemned Health Canada’s July 29 approval of abortion drug RU-486 or mifepristone.

OXNARD, Calif. - It is uncertain that a California pro-life group's ongoing series of undercover videos that show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the illegal marketing and sale of fetal tissue will lead to defunding for the nation's leading provider of abortion services.

SALT LAKE CITY - Pro-life advocates from across the Salt Lake Valley rallied peacefully in front of Planned Parenthood July 28, calling for state and federal officials to investigate and defund Planned Parenthood.

WASHINGTON - Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley said that Planned Parenthood officials' videotaped descriptions of how fetal tissue and organs are procured for researchers during abortions illustrates what Pope Francis calls today's "throwaway culture."

WASHINGTON - Amid an outcry from U.S. Republicans demanding answers to questions raised by a video of a Planned Parenthood physician talking about preserving fetal organs and tissue for researchers for a fee, a second video emerged July 21 of a different physician from the organization talking about the same topic.

WASHINGTON - A video of a Planned Parenthood physician describing her procedures for keeping fetal organs intact during an abortion is "horrifying and heartbreaking," said U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Missouri.

A future historian (on the generous assumption that there are any) might plausibly contend that the first salvo of the “culture wars” was fired in January 1973 when the U.S. Supreme Court released its Roe v. Wade abortion decision. He might also conclude that the same Court’s June 2015 decision declaring gay marriage to be a constitutionally protected right represented a final victory.

SAN FRANCISCO - A video released July 14 appears to show a top Planned Parenthood official discussing the sale of parts of aborted babies for research, including discussing ways the abortion procedure can be altered to preserve specifically requested body parts.

NEW ORLEANS - While the annual number of abortions in the U.S. has dropped from a high of 1.6 million in 1990 to about 1.06 million today, the number of chemical abortions through the use of RU-486 has increased and now represents about 25 per cent of all abortions.

By Michael Kinsalla, Catholic Register Special

A 10-year-old Paraguayan girl is at the centre of an international controversy over “reproductive rights” after she was allegedly raped and impregnated by her stepfather. All cases of child abuse are emotionally contentious and morally outrageous but, as is often the case with vulnerable young women and children, this girl is now a pawn in the wider gambit of the pro-abortion lobby.

MEXICO CITY - Mexico's Supreme Court has declared state-level laws, defining marriage only as the union of a man and a woman, discriminatory and unconstitutional. The decision, in effect, legalizes same-sex marriages in all 31 of the country's states.

Organizers of a controversial anti-abortion campaign will not back down despite protests about the graphic nature of postcards that have been delivered to mailboxes in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto.

WASHINGTON - An Associated Press survey of abortion in the United States this decade has revealed that the number of abortions has gone down by 12 per cent since 2010.

Pope Francis met Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, while outside in St. Peter’s Square anti-abortion protesters drew attention to one of the most controversial topics up for discussion between the two leaders June 5.