Pro-Life This Week – October 23, 2026

The Culture of Life Studies Program is inviting middle and high school students nationwide to participate in its annual Pro-Life Essay Contest, cosponsored by the Institute for Excellence in Writing and open now through November 7. This year’s prompts challenge students to reflect on human dignity, medical ethics, and the value of vulnerable lives. Following a record-breaking response of nearly 500 entries last year, the contest encourages young people to express their convictions with compassion, clarity, and courage. Winning essays will be published online, and top students in each age group will receive prizes. For contest prompts, rules, and submission details, visit prolifeessay.com.

The following article appeared in this week’s Wednesday STOPP Report.

Planned Parenthood is back in New Orleans. After the Gulf Coast affiliate shuttered its Louisiana clinics last year under what it called “political warfare” and “relentless political assaults,” the Great Plains affiliate has taken over the South Claiborne Avenue facility and reopened it for patients. While the organization claims it will not commit abortions in person or via telehealth for Louisiana patients—citing the state’s strong laws—it is still Planned Parenthood. Its primary services will be contraception and STI testing and treatment.

American Life League has long documented that contraception is not healthcare; it is an anti-life, anti-family tool that often fails and can act as an early abortifacient. High STI rates in Louisiana are tragic, but they do not justify handing women over to the nation’s largest abortion business under a different affiliate name.

Local officials are already praising the return as a “huge win” for “women’s health,” even as New Orleans faces budget pressures that may cut other health programs. Meanwhile, Governor Jeff Landry previously celebrated the closures, and Attorney General Liz Murrill has rightly called out the organization for building a business around death. Their opposition remains essential.

Opening-day appointments were fully booked, telehealth access continues, and leaders hope to expand further in the state. This reopening shows that Planned Parenthood never truly leaves; it rebrands, relocates, and waits for political openings.

Prayer and persistent local action closed the doors once. They can do it again. Contact your local officials, share the truth about Planned Parenthood’s real mission, and support the ongoing work to keep every one of its facilities closed. Every facility closed saves lives.

Building a Culture of Life During Respect Life Month—and Beyond

Respect Life Month is a wonderful reminder for people every October to be pro-life not only in belief and words but in action. In case you missed ALL’s September 25 edition of Pro-Life This Week, we provided 5 practical ways to make a difference in the fight for life this Respect Life Month. Here is a recap of those action items:

1. Join the Marian Blue Wave and pray a weekly rosary for an end to abortion.
2. Hand out pro-life resources and talk to friends and family about what it means to be pro-life.
3. Visit a relative whom you haven’t seen in a while. 
4. Donate to a food bank or baby clothes closet.
5. Encourage a middle or high schooler to join our Pro-Life Essay Contest.  (There is still time to enter! The deadline is Nov. 7, 2026.)

These simple, practical actions can help us foster a culture of life not only during the remainder of Respect Life Month, but every day of our lives. If we want to end offenses against human beings and create a culture that values, protects, and respects all human persons, our beliefs must lead to action.

Through daily prayer, we grow in our relationship with God, the Author of Life, who guides us in our journey to fight to protect the lives He created. Our service to the elderly, sick, lonely, and mothers in need allows us to put aside our wants and needs and serve those in greater need, using Christ, the humble servant, as our example. Whether in speech or writing, if we take the time to use our words charitably and effectively, we can educate others on why abortion, assisted suicide, and IVF are unjust, immoral, and murder.

As Respect Life Month comes to a close, let us carry into our daily lives its reminders to defend life. May we continue these actions beyond October and resolve to respect all life every day.

Embracing a Culture of Life: Blessed Chiara Luce Badano: Blessed Chiara Luce Badano was a joyful young Italian girl who bravely battled a painful bone cancer. Until her death, Blessed Chiara encouraged her friends to trust in God, even in times of great pain and suffering. With the rise of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in our society, many students today do not understand that suicide is not compassionate care for the suffering patient. This lesson booklets teaches high school students the value of suffering and how it can bring us closer to God, especially at the end of life. To celebrate her feast day, we are making this booklet available to download for just $1! ORDER HERE