Pope Leo XIV calls for pro-life policies and 'protection of every unborn child'

Pope Leo XIV gave his first annual address to the Vatican diplomatic corps on January 9, 2026, in a speech during which he strongly condemned abortion, euthanasia, and surrogacy, while advocating for family life.

Key Takeaways:

• Pope Leo XIV gave his first address to the Vatican diplomatic corps, which is often considered to be a "state of the world" speech.

• He roundly decried abortion, surrogacy, and euthanasia, while calling for policies that enable families to welcome new life.

The Details:

According to The Pillar, the pope's address to the diplomatic corps, which traditionally occurs at the beginning of the year, is considered his “state of the world” speech. Though the speech this year — the first given by Pope Leo XIV in his role as pontiff — covered a variety of topics, it also focused heavily on pro-life issues.

Part of his address centered on the family. “The institution of the family faces two crucial challenges today,” the pope said, noting “a worrying tendency in the international system to neglect and underestimate its fundamental social role, leading to its progressive institutional marginalization,” and “the growing and painful reality of fragile, broken and suffering families, afflicted by internal difficulties and disturbing phenomena, including domestic violence.”

He spoke of the importance of enabling families to welcome and care for the "priceless gift" of new life, saying:

"The vocation to love and to life, which manifests itself in an important way in the exclusive and indissoluble union between a woman and a man, implies a fundamental ethical imperative for enabling families to welcome and fully care for unborn life.  This is increasingly a priority, especially in those countries that are experiencing a dramatic decline in birth rates.  Life, in fact, is a priceless gift that develops within a committed relationship based on mutual self-giving and service."

He went on to firmly condemn abortion:

“In light of this profound vision of life as a gift to be cherished, and of the family as its responsible guardian, we categorically reject any practice that denies or exploits the origin of life and its development. Among these is abortion, which cuts short a growing life and refuses to welcome the gift of life."

Pope Leo called for "the protection of every unborn child and the effective and concrete support of every woman so that she is able to welcome life.”

The pope's speech also touched on surrogacy, which he explained violates the dignity of both mother and child by reducing the child to a "product" while exploiting the mother.

READ: New study busts long-held myths about human embryo development

Additionally, he touched on the issue of euthanasia, saying that nations have a responsibility to care for vulnerable individuals by offering "solutions such as palliative care" rather than "encouraging deceptive forms of compassion such as euthanasia."

The Bottom Line:

After touching on these pro-life issues, as well as other topics, the pope reiterated the Church's commitment to the protection of the right to life.

"In light of these challenges, we firmly reiterate that the protection of the right to life constitutes the indispensable foundation of every other human right," he said. "A society is healthy and truly progresses only when it safeguards the sanctity of human life and works actively to promote it."