consequences

Meta blocks AI chatbot from discussing abortion with minors #Catholic Meta blocks AI chatbot from discussing abortion with minorsMeta won’t allow its AI chatbot to discuss abortion with minors, according to a report from the progressive outlet Mother Jones.Citing internal Meta documents, Mother Jones reported that Meta’s chatbot policy guidelines for interactions with minors prevent the chatbot from advising them on “content that provides advice or opinion" about "sexual health” or offering information helping them obtain an abortion.According to the report, a Meta spokesperson disputed claims of bias, saying that “any claims of enforcement based on group affiliation or advocacy are baseless” and that the company allows "posts and ads promoting health care services like abortion, as well as discussion and debate around them, as long as they follow our policies. We also give people the opportunity to appeal decisions if they think we’ve got it wrong.”When asked about the leaked documents, a company spokesperson told EWTN News: "Our AIs are trained to engage in age-appropriate discussions with teens, and to connect them with expert resources and support when appropriate." "They provide factual information on sexual health but refrain from offering advice or opinions. We continuously review and improve our protections so that teens have access to helpful information with default safeguards in place.”The Meta spokesperson also responded to advertisement censorship claims.“Every organization and individual on our platforms is subject to the same set of rules, and any claims of enforcement based on group affiliation or advocacy are baseless," the spokesperson said. United Kingdom assisted suicide bill falters as local measures advanceA national assisted suicide bill is failing to pass in the United Kingdom this week, even as local measures advance.According to a statement by the advocacy group Right to Life UK, on Feb. 26 the national bill was “widely pronounced as dead by commentators after it was revealed that it will 'almost certainly' run out of time”In Wales, the regional parliament voted on Feb. 24 in favor of the National Health Service to oversee assisted suicide if the Terminally Ill Adults Bill passes in the House of Lords.Archbishop Mark O'Toole of Cardiff-Menevia called the vote “a sad day for Wales’s most vulnerable" in a Feb. 25 statement.The island of Jersey similarly passed a law to legalize assisted suicide in a 32-to-16 vote on Feb. 26 by members of the States Assembly. The measure applies to “mentally competent” adults with terminal illnesses and who have been residents of Jersey for 12 months. Before the bill can become law, it will need royal assent.Ohio Appeals Court upholds ban on aborted baby burial requirementOhio judges on Wednesday upheld a ban on a law requiring abortion clinics to dispose of the remains of babies via burial or cremation.The appellate court in Cincinnati upheld a lower court ruling permanently blocking the law.Ohio in 2023 passed a constitutional amendment enshrining a right to abortion.Executive Director of Ohio Right to Life Carrie Snyder condemned the decision.“It’s unfortunate, but not a surprise, that the First District Court of Appeals sided with the abortion industry to stop Ohio’s fetal remains law from taking effect. Sadly, clinics will continue treating these precious little ones like garbage to be disposed of as cheaply as possible,” Snyder said in a Feb. 26 statement. “This really underscores that abortion is not health care, and that clinics are going to do everything within their power to boost their profit margin.”A Planned Parenthood spokeswoman, meanwhile, celebrated the decision, claiming the burial law was "cruel" and "nothing more than an opportunity to shame and stigmatize" women who get abortions.Texas attorney general sues mail-in abortion company for alleged illegal shipmentsTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued mail-in abortion company Aid Access along with California abortionist Remy Coeytaux and abortionist and founder of Aid Access Rebecca Gomperts for allegedly illegally shipping abortion drugs to Texas.Aid Access’s website advertises its shipping to all states including Texas, according to Paxton’s press release.“These unlawful shipments have had real and devastating consequences for Texas families,” the press release read. “In 2025, a Nueces County man allegedly used abortion-inducing drugs obtained from an out-of-state provider to secretly poison his girlfriend, resulting in the death of their unborn child.”“Every unborn child is a life worth protecting,” Paxton said, adding that he will “relentlessly enforce our state’s pro-life laws against Aid Access and other radicals like it.”
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Meta blocks AI chatbot from discussing abortion with minors #Catholic Meta blocks AI chatbot from discussing abortion with minorsMeta won’t allow its AI chatbot to discuss abortion with minors, according to a report from the progressive outlet Mother Jones.Citing internal Meta documents, Mother Jones reported that Meta’s chatbot policy guidelines for interactions with minors prevent the chatbot from advising them on “content that provides advice or opinion" about "sexual health” or offering information helping them obtain an abortion.According to the report, a Meta spokesperson disputed claims of bias, saying that “any claims of enforcement based on group affiliation or advocacy are baseless” and that the company allows "posts and ads promoting health care services like abortion, as well as discussion and debate around them, as long as they follow our policies. We also give people the opportunity to appeal decisions if they think we’ve got it wrong.”When asked about the leaked documents, a company spokesperson told EWTN News: "Our AIs are trained to engage in age-appropriate discussions with teens, and to connect them with expert resources and support when appropriate." "They provide factual information on sexual health but refrain from offering advice or opinions. We continuously review and improve our protections so that teens have access to helpful information with default safeguards in place.”The Meta spokesperson also responded to advertisement censorship claims.“Every organization and individual on our platforms is subject to the same set of rules, and any claims of enforcement based on group affiliation or advocacy are baseless," the spokesperson said. United Kingdom assisted suicide bill falters as local measures advanceA national assisted suicide bill is failing to pass in the United Kingdom this week, even as local measures advance.According to a statement by the advocacy group Right to Life UK, on Feb. 26 the national bill was “widely pronounced as dead by commentators after it was revealed that it will 'almost certainly' run out of time”In Wales, the regional parliament voted on Feb. 24 in favor of the National Health Service to oversee assisted suicide if the Terminally Ill Adults Bill passes in the House of Lords.Archbishop Mark O'Toole of Cardiff-Menevia called the vote “a sad day for Wales’s most vulnerable" in a Feb. 25 statement.The island of Jersey similarly passed a law to legalize assisted suicide in a 32-to-16 vote on Feb. 26 by members of the States Assembly. The measure applies to “mentally competent” adults with terminal illnesses and who have been residents of Jersey for 12 months. Before the bill can become law, it will need royal assent.Ohio Appeals Court upholds ban on aborted baby burial requirementOhio judges on Wednesday upheld a ban on a law requiring abortion clinics to dispose of the remains of babies via burial or cremation.The appellate court in Cincinnati upheld a lower court ruling permanently blocking the law.Ohio in 2023 passed a constitutional amendment enshrining a right to abortion.Executive Director of Ohio Right to Life Carrie Snyder condemned the decision.“It’s unfortunate, but not a surprise, that the First District Court of Appeals sided with the abortion industry to stop Ohio’s fetal remains law from taking effect. Sadly, clinics will continue treating these precious little ones like garbage to be disposed of as cheaply as possible,” Snyder said in a Feb. 26 statement. “This really underscores that abortion is not health care, and that clinics are going to do everything within their power to boost their profit margin.”A Planned Parenthood spokeswoman, meanwhile, celebrated the decision, claiming the burial law was "cruel" and "nothing more than an opportunity to shame and stigmatize" women who get abortions.Texas attorney general sues mail-in abortion company for alleged illegal shipmentsTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued mail-in abortion company Aid Access along with California abortionist Remy Coeytaux and abortionist and founder of Aid Access Rebecca Gomperts for allegedly illegally shipping abortion drugs to Texas.Aid Access’s website advertises its shipping to all states including Texas, according to Paxton’s press release.“These unlawful shipments have had real and devastating consequences for Texas families,” the press release read. “In 2025, a Nueces County man allegedly used abortion-inducing drugs obtained from an out-of-state provider to secretly poison his girlfriend, resulting in the death of their unborn child.”“Every unborn child is a life worth protecting,” Paxton said, adding that he will “relentlessly enforce our state’s pro-life laws against Aid Access and other radicals like it.”

unitedyam

A roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

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How one woman’s unexpected pregnancy launched a pro-life group helping women in need #Catholic A woman receives a baby shower at her local church through Embrace Grace. | Credit: Embrace Grace Jan 18, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA). Amy Ford was 19 years old when she found herself with an unplanned pregnancy. Scared and thinking her life and dreams were over, she attempted to get an abortion but was unable to go through with it. Ford and the baby’s father turned to their church for support and received none. The experience led her to create Embrace Grace, a nonprofit that provides support and community through local churches for pregnant mothers in need.The story behind the ministryFord told EWTN News that she thought “my life was over, my dreams were over, that my parents were going to hate me.” She said she thought she would end up homeless. “The father of the baby felt the same way and we just thought we could have an abortion and maybe that’s a quick fix and we’ll just deal with the consequences of a broken heart later. And even though we grew up knowing abortion was wrong, we just kind of went into this mode of trying not to feel anything,” Ford recalled.So, she went to an abortion clinic. As the nurses explained what they were going to do during the procedure, Ford began to hyperventilate and passed out. She was told she was “too emotionally distraught” to make a decision and that she could go back to the abortion clinic another day.As she walked into the waiting room, she told the baby’s father that she was still pregnant. At that moment, the two decided they would keep the child. The high school sweethearts knew they wanted to get married one day; they just didn’t expect to have a child before marriage.The two went to an evangelical pastor whom they knew personally to ask him if he could marry them.“He said, ‘No, I’m sorry, because you sinned I will not bless this marriage,’” Ford shared.The couple found another pastor to marry them and got married when Ford was 16 weeks pregnant. They tried going back to their church after that but it was “the elephant in the room” — others changed how they interacted with them and they decided to stop attending church for a period of time.Ford and her husband welcomed their son — who is now 27 years old and also works in the pro-life movement — and have been married for 27 years, welcoming three more children after their firstborn.Amy Ford, founder of Embrace Grace. | Credit: Embrace GraceHelping womenLooking back at her experience, Ford felt called to help women who found themselves in these situations, not sure where to go, and weren’t aware of the resources available to them. So she started a small group at her church for women who were experiencing an unexpected pregnancy.Ford admitted that back then she didn’t know what a pregnancy center was or what the pro-life movement was.“If someone would have said, ‘I work in the pro-life movement,’ I would have assumed that meant picketing because that’s the only thing the media shows,” she admitted. “I didn’t know what a pregnancy center was even when I started Embrace Grace, the group. I didn’t know anything about it. So, I never thought, ‘I’m starting a pro-life group.’ That wasn’t even on my mind. I just wanted to start a small group for women that have unexpected pregnancies.”In 2008 Ford hosted her first group, which was made up of three women who met at a local church in the Dallas-Forth Worth area. After meeting for 12 weeks as a group, “they didn’t even seem like the same person by the end of it,” Ford recalled.“They had completely transformed. They were empowered as women to be the moms that God created them to be.”After the first group, Ford held another Embrace Grace session, and another and another. With each passing session, more and more young women were attending and slowly more and more churches were getting involved.Today, Embrace Grace is in over 1,200 churches across the country — mostly in evangelical, Baptist, and Catholic churches. A woman who joins an Embrace Grace group goes through a 12-week curriculum that aims to help her experience healing and remind her of who God made her to be as a daughter of God and a mother. Additionally, the church hosting the group throws each woman a baby shower.A woman receives a baby shower at her local church through Embrace Grace. | Credit: Embrace GraceEmbrace Grace also has two other programs: Embrace Life and Embrace Legacy. Embrace Life is a 20-week program that teaches the women more practical skills in terms of parenting, the newborn phase and postpartum, how to manage finances, and more. Embrace Legacy is a 12-week program aimed at new or single fathers.Ford hopes that Embrace Grace serves as a tool of “courage and the bridge to get them actually going to church and raising their kids in the church and being a part of a spiritual family.”The nondenominational nonprofit also works in partnership with local pregnancy centers that are within a 30-mile radius of a church that hosts an Embrace Grace group by giving them what they call “Love Boxes” to give women who find out they are pregnant and are seeking support. The Love Box contains a onesie with the words “Best Gift Ever,” a book called “A Bump in Life” — which contains 20 testimonies from women who chose life — a journal, a handwritten letter encouraging a new mother, and an invitation to join the local Embrace Grace group.Love Boxes are given to women at pregnancy centers after they find out they’re pregnant and are in search of support. | Credit: Embrace Grace“Because most pregnancy centers have sonogram machines, that means they’re medical, which means they have HIPAA laws that they have to abide by. So, they can’t just give the church the girl’s name,” Ford explained. “So these Love Boxes are kind of a way, another touch, for the mom to find out more … and that there’s a church that wants to walk alongside you.”Embrace Grace recently reached a milestone by giving out 150,000 Love Boxes since its launch in 2018.Looking ahead, Ford’s goal is to be in 23,400 churches. If that number sounds specific, that’s because it is. By using different tools, Ford and her team concluded that if they want every woman who finds herself in an unplanned pregnancy to be able to turn to a church for support, Embrace Grace needs to be in “23,400 churches strategically placed around the United States … so that no mom would ever have to walk alone.”“We are just putting it out there, trying to partner with as many churches as possible, so that we can make that happen,” she said. “That is our big dream. That that’s what the world would look like — that no mom would have to walk alone and that she would have a church to turn to in her local area.”“I believe in leading Embrace Grace, we have front-row seats to miracles.”
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How one woman’s unexpected pregnancy launched a pro-life group helping women in need #Catholic A woman receives a baby shower at her local church through Embrace Grace. | Credit: Embrace Grace Jan 18, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA). Amy Ford was 19 years old when she found herself with an unplanned pregnancy. Scared and thinking her life and dreams were over, she attempted to get an abortion but was unable to go through with it. Ford and the baby’s father turned to their church for support and received none. The experience led her to create Embrace Grace, a nonprofit that provides support and community through local churches for pregnant mothers in need.The story behind the ministryFord told EWTN News that she thought “my life was over, my dreams were over, that my parents were going to hate me.” She said she thought she would end up homeless. “The father of the baby felt the same way and we just thought we could have an abortion and maybe that’s a quick fix and we’ll just deal with the consequences of a broken heart later. And even though we grew up knowing abortion was wrong, we just kind of went into this mode of trying not to feel anything,” Ford recalled.So, she went to an abortion clinic. As the nurses explained what they were going to do during the procedure, Ford began to hyperventilate and passed out. She was told she was “too emotionally distraught” to make a decision and that she could go back to the abortion clinic another day.As she walked into the waiting room, she told the baby’s father that she was still pregnant. At that moment, the two decided they would keep the child. The high school sweethearts knew they wanted to get married one day; they just didn’t expect to have a child before marriage.The two went to an evangelical pastor whom they knew personally to ask him if he could marry them.“He said, ‘No, I’m sorry, because you sinned I will not bless this marriage,’” Ford shared.The couple found another pastor to marry them and got married when Ford was 16 weeks pregnant. They tried going back to their church after that but it was “the elephant in the room” — others changed how they interacted with them and they decided to stop attending church for a period of time.Ford and her husband welcomed their son — who is now 27 years old and also works in the pro-life movement — and have been married for 27 years, welcoming three more children after their firstborn.Amy Ford, founder of Embrace Grace. | Credit: Embrace GraceHelping womenLooking back at her experience, Ford felt called to help women who found themselves in these situations, not sure where to go, and weren’t aware of the resources available to them. So she started a small group at her church for women who were experiencing an unexpected pregnancy.Ford admitted that back then she didn’t know what a pregnancy center was or what the pro-life movement was.“If someone would have said, ‘I work in the pro-life movement,’ I would have assumed that meant picketing because that’s the only thing the media shows,” she admitted. “I didn’t know what a pregnancy center was even when I started Embrace Grace, the group. I didn’t know anything about it. So, I never thought, ‘I’m starting a pro-life group.’ That wasn’t even on my mind. I just wanted to start a small group for women that have unexpected pregnancies.”In 2008 Ford hosted her first group, which was made up of three women who met at a local church in the Dallas-Forth Worth area. After meeting for 12 weeks as a group, “they didn’t even seem like the same person by the end of it,” Ford recalled.“They had completely transformed. They were empowered as women to be the moms that God created them to be.”After the first group, Ford held another Embrace Grace session, and another and another. With each passing session, more and more young women were attending and slowly more and more churches were getting involved.Today, Embrace Grace is in over 1,200 churches across the country — mostly in evangelical, Baptist, and Catholic churches. A woman who joins an Embrace Grace group goes through a 12-week curriculum that aims to help her experience healing and remind her of who God made her to be as a daughter of God and a mother. Additionally, the church hosting the group throws each woman a baby shower.A woman receives a baby shower at her local church through Embrace Grace. | Credit: Embrace GraceEmbrace Grace also has two other programs: Embrace Life and Embrace Legacy. Embrace Life is a 20-week program that teaches the women more practical skills in terms of parenting, the newborn phase and postpartum, how to manage finances, and more. Embrace Legacy is a 12-week program aimed at new or single fathers.Ford hopes that Embrace Grace serves as a tool of “courage and the bridge to get them actually going to church and raising their kids in the church and being a part of a spiritual family.”The nondenominational nonprofit also works in partnership with local pregnancy centers that are within a 30-mile radius of a church that hosts an Embrace Grace group by giving them what they call “Love Boxes” to give women who find out they are pregnant and are seeking support. The Love Box contains a onesie with the words “Best Gift Ever,” a book called “A Bump in Life” — which contains 20 testimonies from women who chose life — a journal, a handwritten letter encouraging a new mother, and an invitation to join the local Embrace Grace group.Love Boxes are given to women at pregnancy centers after they find out they’re pregnant and are in search of support. | Credit: Embrace Grace“Because most pregnancy centers have sonogram machines, that means they’re medical, which means they have HIPAA laws that they have to abide by. So, they can’t just give the church the girl’s name,” Ford explained. “So these Love Boxes are kind of a way, another touch, for the mom to find out more … and that there’s a church that wants to walk alongside you.”Embrace Grace recently reached a milestone by giving out 150,000 Love Boxes since its launch in 2018.Looking ahead, Ford’s goal is to be in 23,400 churches. If that number sounds specific, that’s because it is. By using different tools, Ford and her team concluded that if they want every woman who finds herself in an unplanned pregnancy to be able to turn to a church for support, Embrace Grace needs to be in “23,400 churches strategically placed around the United States … so that no mom would ever have to walk alone.”“We are just putting it out there, trying to partner with as many churches as possible, so that we can make that happen,” she said. “That is our big dream. That that’s what the world would look like — that no mom would have to walk alone and that she would have a church to turn to in her local area.”“I believe in leading Embrace Grace, we have front-row seats to miracles.”

unitedyam

A woman receives a baby shower at her local church through Embrace Grace. | Credit: Embrace Grace

Jan 18, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Amy Ford was 19 years old when she found herself with an unplanned pregnancy. Scared and thinking her life and dreams were over, she attempted to get an abortion but was unable to go through with it.

Ford and the baby’s father turned to their church for support and received none. The experience led her to create Embrace Grace, a nonprofit that provides support and community through local churches for pregnant mothers in need.

The story behind the ministry

Ford told EWTN News that she thought “my life was over, my dreams were over, that my parents were going to hate me.” She said she thought she would end up homeless.

“The father of the baby felt the same way and we just thought we could have an abortion and maybe that’s a quick fix and we’ll just deal with the consequences of a broken heart later. And even though we grew up knowing abortion was wrong, we just kind of went into this mode of trying not to feel anything,” Ford recalled.

So, she went to an abortion clinic. As the nurses explained what they were going to do during the procedure, Ford began to hyperventilate and passed out. She was told she was “too emotionally distraught” to make a decision and that she could go back to the abortion clinic another day.

As she walked into the waiting room, she told the baby’s father that she was still pregnant. At that moment, the two decided they would keep the child. The high school sweethearts knew they wanted to get married one day; they just didn’t expect to have a child before marriage.

The two went to an evangelical pastor whom they knew personally to ask him if he could marry them.

“He said, ‘No, I’m sorry, because you sinned I will not bless this marriage,’” Ford shared.

The couple found another pastor to marry them and got married when Ford was 16 weeks pregnant. They tried going back to their church after that but it was “the elephant in the room” — others changed how they interacted with them and they decided to stop attending church for a period of time.

Ford and her husband welcomed their son — who is now 27 years old and also works in the pro-life movement — and have been married for 27 years, welcoming three more children after their firstborn.

Amy Ford, founder of Embrace Grace. | Credit: Embrace Grace
Amy Ford, founder of Embrace Grace. | Credit: Embrace Grace

Helping women

Looking back at her experience, Ford felt called to help women who found themselves in these situations, not sure where to go, and weren’t aware of the resources available to them. So she started a small group at her church for women who were experiencing an unexpected pregnancy.

Ford admitted that back then she didn’t know what a pregnancy center was or what the pro-life movement was.

“If someone would have said, ‘I work in the pro-life movement,’ I would have assumed that meant picketing because that’s the only thing the media shows,” she admitted. “I didn’t know what a pregnancy center was even when I started Embrace Grace, the group. I didn’t know anything about it. So, I never thought, ‘I’m starting a pro-life group.’ That wasn’t even on my mind. I just wanted to start a small group for women that have unexpected pregnancies.”

In 2008 Ford hosted her first group, which was made up of three women who met at a local church in the Dallas-Forth Worth area. After meeting for 12 weeks as a group, “they didn’t even seem like the same person by the end of it,” Ford recalled.

“They had completely transformed. They were empowered as women to be the moms that God created them to be.”

After the first group, Ford held another Embrace Grace session, and another and another. With each passing session, more and more young women were attending and slowly more and more churches were getting involved.

Today, Embrace Grace is in over 1,200 churches across the country — mostly in evangelical, Baptist, and Catholic churches.

A woman who joins an Embrace Grace group goes through a 12-week curriculum that aims to help her experience healing and remind her of who God made her to be as a daughter of God and a mother. Additionally, the church hosting the group throws each woman a baby shower.

A woman receives a baby shower at her local church through Embrace Grace. | Credit: Embrace Grace
A woman receives a baby shower at her local church through Embrace Grace. | Credit: Embrace Grace

Embrace Grace also has two other programs: Embrace Life and Embrace Legacy.

Embrace Life is a 20-week program that teaches the women more practical skills in terms of parenting, the newborn phase and postpartum, how to manage finances, and more. Embrace Legacy is a 12-week program aimed at new or single fathers.

Ford hopes that Embrace Grace serves as a tool of “courage and the bridge to get them actually going to church and raising their kids in the church and being a part of a spiritual family.”

The nondenominational nonprofit also works in partnership with local pregnancy centers that are within a 30-mile radius of a church that hosts an Embrace Grace group by giving them what they call “Love Boxes” to give women who find out they are pregnant and are seeking support. The Love Box contains a onesie with the words “Best Gift Ever,” a book called “A Bump in Life” — which contains 20 testimonies from women who chose life — a journal, a handwritten letter encouraging a new mother, and an invitation to join the local Embrace Grace group.

Love Boxes are given to women at pregnancy centers after they find out they’re pregnant and are in search of support. | Credit: Embrace Grace
Love Boxes are given to women at pregnancy centers after they find out they’re pregnant and are in search of support. | Credit: Embrace Grace

“Because most pregnancy centers have sonogram machines, that means they’re medical, which means they have HIPAA laws that they have to abide by. So, they can’t just give the church the girl’s name,” Ford explained. “So these Love Boxes are kind of a way, another touch, for the mom to find out more … and that there’s a church that wants to walk alongside you.”

Embrace Grace recently reached a milestone by giving out 150,000 Love Boxes since its launch in 2018.

Looking ahead, Ford’s goal is to be in 23,400 churches. If that number sounds specific, that’s because it is. By using different tools, Ford and her team concluded that if they want every woman who finds herself in an unplanned pregnancy to be able to turn to a church for support, Embrace Grace needs to be in “23,400 churches strategically placed around the United States … so that no mom would ever have to walk alone.”

“We are just putting it out there, trying to partner with as many churches as possible, so that we can make that happen,” she said. “That is our big dream. That that’s what the world would look like — that no mom would have to walk alone and that she would have a church to turn to in her local area.”

“I believe in leading Embrace Grace, we have front-row seats to miracles.”

Read More