Bioethics Public Policy Report: April 14, 2026
State by State
A bill was introduced to the Ohio house of representatives that would require life and death certificates for unborn children. All deaths of unborn children would have to be registered, and life certificates would have to be issued on the detection of a fetal heartbeat. To track the bill, click here. For further information, click here.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed two pro-life bills, one of which would have given a statutory claim to women claiming a violation of informed consent rights, and the other of which would have clarified the informed consent process. For further information, click here.
The state legislature in Kansas overrode Gov. Kelly’s veto of another bill, which establishes state protections for pro-life pregnancy centers so that they cannot be forced to act against their beliefs. For further information, click here.
The Missouri Catholic Conference has asked the faithful to fast and pray for the passage of Amendment 3, which, if passed, would replace the pro-abortion amendment to the state’s constitution with a pro-life amendment. To read the bishops’ statement, click here.
The Tennessee state legislature passed a bill that, if signed into law, would create a statutory wrongful death claim against abortion providers for causing the death of a child related to the plaintiff. The legislation could help curb mail-order abortion pills coming into the state. For further information, click here.
Federal Courts
The Supreme Court of the United States, ruling in Chiles v. Salazar, struck down Colorado’s ban on “conversion therapy” on First Amendment grounds, stating that the ban included constitutionally protected speech. The ruling will likely affect similar bans in other states, such as Michigan. The NCBC had filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiff challenging the Colorado law. To read our amicus brief, click here. For further information, click here and here.
A federal district court judge in Texas ruled against the National Religious Broadcasters in a lawsuit challenging the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits tax-exempt organizations from endorsing political candidates. The ruling came as a surprise, as in earlier court filings the Internal Revenue Service had indicated that there were circumstances where tax-exempt organizations could endorse political candidates. For further information, click here.
A federal court ordered California to pay the Thomas More Society $4.52 million in attorneys’ fees in Mirabelli v. Bonta, a case challenging California’s policy of concealing children’s gender confusion from parents on parental rights grounds. The award was made on the grounds of “litigation intransigence,” which included several “inarguably meritless” pleadings. The Supreme Court had found for the parents earlier this year. For further information, click here.
National
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has extended Title X funding to Planned Parenthood for another year, with the White House explaining that this was “the fifth and final year of Title X grants that were locked in place during the Biden presidency.” A White House spokesperson has said that the administration “remains committed to realigning the Title X program with the president’s pro-life and pro-family agenda going forward.” For further information, click here.
The NCBC and colleague agencies submitted a public comment in support of HHS’s proposal to rescind the final rule entitled Designated Placement Requirements Under Titles IV-E and IV-B for LGBTQI+ Children, which had required foster care facilities to ensure that there was Designated Placement for such children. A federal court in Texas had already enjoined the law as exceeding statutory authority in State of Texas v. United States Department of Health & Human Services. To read our public comment, click here. To read the proposed rule change, click here.
International
On March 19, the state of Aguascalientes in Mexico established the Day of the Unborn Child on March 25 with the intent of encouraging pro-life and pro-family values across the state. For further information, click here.
A 25-year-old woman became the youngest person to die under Spain’s euthanasia law on March 26. The woman had struggled with mental health and had been gang-raped in a mental health care facility, which led her to attempt suicide and then subsequently seek euthanasia. The Catholic bishops of Spain issued a statement decrying euthanasia and assisted suicide laws as “a societal defeat when presented as a response to human suffering.” For further information, click here and here.
The Finnish Supreme Court found a member of parliament, Päivi Räsänen, guilty of “hate speech” for publishing a church pamphlet that was “insulting” to homosexuals over 20 years ago, deeming her interpretation of the Bible criminal. For further information, click here.
Of Note
Pope Leo XIV warned of the dangers of AI chatbots, stating that young persons’ overreliance on artificial intelligence can negatively affect intellectual and emotional development. For further information, click here.
Pope Leo also discussed the history of organ donation and Catholic moral theology, reaffirming the importance of consent and the dignity of the human person. For further information, click here.
EWTN News conducted an interview with Vincent Higgins, the CEO of the Builders AI Forum, which met in Rome this past November with the aim of establishing a Catholic moral framework for the ethical use of artificial intelligence. To read the interview, click here.
Vice President JD Vance announced that he will be releasing a book entitled Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, which will detail the story of his conversion to Catholicism. For further information, click here.
The General Secretariat of the Synod released the final report of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar Commission on pastoral care for those entering the Church in polygamous unions. For further information, click here.
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The National Catholic Bioethics Center website is a significant resource for bioethics information. NCBC bioethicists are also on call for consultation twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, at 215-877-2660.