‘World’s oldest baby’ born through embryo adoption 

CNA Staff, Aug 8, 2025 / 16:23 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

Baby born from 30-year-old embryo through embryo adoption 

Thaddeus Daniel Pierce is the world’s oldest baby, born more than 30 years after he was conceived in a laboratory as an embryo. 

Born July 26, Thaddeus had been stored as an embryo since the 1990s. His biological mother, 62-year-old Linda Archerd, donated her three remaining embryos long after she underwent in vitro fertilization in May 1994.

She and her husband gave birth to a child through IVF but later went through a divorce. Archerd won custody of the embryos and paid for the expensive storage each year, hoping to one day implant the three children. Archerd, a Christian, did not want to destroy the embryos or give them up for scientific experimentation. But when she became too old to carry them, Archerd reached out to an embryo adoption agency.

Many embryo adoption agencies will not take older embryos. These unborn children may be less likely to survive or develop, and the thawing process can be dangerous. But Archerd found a program at the Nightlight Christian Adoptions Agency in which parents accept older embryos at the chance that they will survive.

Lindsey and Tim Pierce had been trying for a baby for seven years. The Pierces adopted Thaddeus as an embryo through the agency’s “Open Hearts” program for embryos that are “hard to place.”

Of Archerd’s three remaining embryos, Thaddeus was the only one to survive.

Investigative report finds Virginia school office bypassed parents, funded students’ abortions

A Virginia public school allegedly arranged and paid for the abortions of two pregnant high school students, bypassing their parents, according to an investigative report.

The report by Walter Curt Dispatch Investigations found that Centreville High School staff arranged abortions for two pregnant high school girls in 2021.

One of the girls had the abortion at 17, while the other girl, who was five months pregnant, ran from the clinic after a social worker allegedly told her she “had no other choice.” The girls say that the school principal knew and funded the abortions.

The local abortion clinic, Falls Church Healthcare Center, has a metal bolt across the entrance, and neighbors say it is always locked, according to Walter Curt’s report.  

The school district, Fairfax County Public Schools, said in a statement that it is “launching an immediate and comprehensive investigation” into the reports.

Louisiana Planned Parenthood locations close due to lack of funding 

Two Planned Parenthood locations in Louisiana will close due to lack of federal funding, a move pro-life advocates applaud.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry called the closures “a major win,” noting that “abortion should NEVER be considered health care.” Louisiana protects life through all stages of pregnancy, with a few exceptions.

Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast President Melaney Linton in a statement blamed “political warfare” and noted that as many as 200 Planned Parenthood locations could close as a result of the loss of funding.

Benjamin Clapper, the executive director of Louisiana Right to Life, reaffirmed the pro-life movement’s commitment to “always love and serve both mom and baby.”

New Massachusetts law protects abortionists, requires ‘emergency abortions’

Massachusetts this week passed a law to protect abortionists who prescribe and ship abortion drugs to places where abortion is illegal or restricted.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday signed the abortion shield law, which also mandates so-called “emergency abortions” to be performed by every acute care hospital in the state.

The new law also prevents disclosure of an abortionist’s name and requires local authorities to not cooperate with federal or out-of-state investigations into “abortion care.”

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/265877/world-s-oldest-baby-born-through-embryo-adoption