Bioethics Public Policy Report: September 30, 2025
STATE By State
The Thomas More Society is representing a pro-life activist who was attacked while interviewing people on the street. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office failed to prosecute the offense, so the Thomas More Society is representing the woman in a civil suit for her damages. For further information, click here.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill into law that will allow private citizens a cause of action against manufacturers, distributors, mailers, and providers of chemical abortion pills in the state, to take effect on December 4 of this year. For further information, click here.
Federal Courts
The Fifth Circuit upheld the “church autonomy doctrine,” which prevents courts from adjudicating ecclesiastical matters, in a case between a former leader of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and the SBC itself for defamation. The court said that this doctrine “forbids courts from adjudicating matters of church governance, including church discipline and the church’s understanding of its own membership.” For further information, click here.
The Fifth Circuit heard arguments in a whistleblower case under the False Claims Act, which could cost Planned Parenthood up to $1.8 billion in false Medicaid claims. Planned Parenthood has been affiliates in Texas and Louisiana to continue to bill claims for Medicaid during ongoing litigation, despite those states having revoked their eligibility for Medicaid in 2015. For further information, click here.
national
Across the nation, several states are considering expanding physician-assisted suicide laws this year. A study has shown that approximately 51% of Americans support further expansion of physician-assisted suicide. For further information, click here and here.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel indicated that there have been terminations and resignations in relation to the 2023 anti-Catholic memo at an oversight hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Director Patel also indicated that the FBI was investigating several anti-Catholic hate crimes that have been reported. For further information, click here.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that it will not renew 17 grants which had been awarded under the Biden administration. The NIH explained that it would not renew them because they involved research utilizing tissue or body parts from aborted children. For further information, click here.
Rep. August Pfluger (TX-11) introduced legislation, entitled “The Second Chance at Life Act,” which would require informed consent about abortion pill reversal to be given to expecting mothers considering abortion. To read the bill, click here. For further information, click here and here.
The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that the chemical abortion drug mifepristone is under review for safety concerns, in response to a letter from 22 state attorneys general asking for the review. For further information, click here.
international
Twelve euthanasia activists are on trial in France for illegally providing pentobarbital, a drug used for physician-assisted suicide, for dozens of people. The case comes as France is in the midst of attempting to legalize physician-assisted suicide. For further information, click here.
The State Administration for Religious Affairs in China has issued new regulations that ban Christians from teaching or evangelizing on the internet. The regulations come soon after Pope Leo indicated that he might shift the Vatican’s policy with China in the future. For further information, click here and here.
A study conducted by Cardus indicated that the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program in Canada was disproportionately affecting the disabled and non-terminally ill patients. Famous children’s book author Robert Munsch also recently announced that he would be enrolling in MAID due to his diagnoses of dementia and Parkinson’s disease. To read the study, click here. For further information, click here.
The U.S. State Department condemned the arrest of a pro-life activist in Scotland for holding up a sign that read, “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.” The State Department said, “The United States will always speak out against these violations of fundamental rights.” For further information, click here.
of note
Pope Leo called for more support from the Church and governments for families across the world, pointing to the family’s important role in society. For further information, click here.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito spoke at the Vatican for the Jubilee of Justice on September 20, an event which drew judges, lawyers, and canonists from around the world. Among other topics, he discussed challenges to religious liberty around the world. For further information, click here.
The Vatican has issued a warning of false images and videos of Pope Leo created by artificial intelligence, purporting to be the Holy Father speaking on various topics of public concern. In a recent interview, Pope Leo indicated that it is “very difficult to discover the presence of God” when using artificial intelligence and warned of the possibility of affronts to human dignity through the new technology. For further information, click here and here.
Pope Leo announced that St. John Henry Newman, “who contributed decisively to the renewal of theology and to the understanding of the development of Christian doctrine,” would be declared a Doctor of the Church on November 1 of this year. For further information, click here.
The Archdiocese of Chicago announced its intent to honor Sen. Dick Durbin, a pro-abortion politician, defending the decision based on his work in immigration. Several bishops have criticized the decision, including Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco. For further information, click here, here, and here.
A recent study showed that clinicians are split on whether euthanasia is an acceptable form of treatment for patients with dementia, with about half in favor and half opposed. To read the study, click here. 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.
Justin Corman
Justin Corman is a guest editor at the NCBC, and a student at Ave Maria School of Law.