Life Prizes Will Again Award Pro-Life Heroes Working Against Abortion

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Aug 16, 2010   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Life Prizes Will Again Award Pro-Life Heroes Working Against Abortion

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 16
, 2010

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — With the mainstream media frequently ignoring or twisting the coverage of pro-life advocates and Hollywood awards ceremonies featuring a who’s who of pro-abortion celebrities, the Gerard Health Foundation decided to create its own awards ceremony to honor pro-life heroes working against abortion.

Last year, some of the top pro-life activists around the nation were honored for their life-saving principles and practices at an invitation-only ceremony in January.

The inaugural awards and ceremony in 2009 were unprecedented in size and magnificence with more than 1,200 VIPs, students and pro-life activists gathered to honor the winners. Laura Ingraham, a pro-life media luminary joined Christian rock band BarlowGirl to present the awards.

The foundation will bestow those Life Prizes again in Nobel Prize-like fashion to those pro-life groups and individuals who distinguish themselves "based upon their success in saving human lives through efforts including public advocacy, scientific research, outreach programs, public disclosure activities, legal action, and other worthy achievements."

Raymond B. Ruddy, a philanthropist who is the founder of the Gerard Health Foundation, talked more about the rationale behind Life Prizes.

"Our Foundation has a profoundly simple mission: to save lives," he said.

"Life Prizes works to honor those who have best accomplished this noble goal and to inspire the next generation to break the mold in their life-saving work," Ruddy added. "As last year’s winners will tell you, ordinary people can achieve extraordinary goals. We look forward to celebrating six new heroes and thanking them for their ingenuity, dedication, sacrifices and leadership."

That list of winners from 2009 includes pro-life advocates who are highly regarded for their lifesaving work.

Lila Rose, who has frequently exposed the abuses that take place inside the walls of Planned Parenthood abortion centers, was one of the recipients.

The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the professional voice for doctors who promote the pro-life values in the medical profession and Margaret "Peggy" Hartshorn, the president of Heartbeat International, the network of pregnancy centers, also received an award.

Jill Stanek, the nurse who first publicly exposed infanticide of abortion survivors and Richard Doerflinger, long regarded as one of the leading pro-life Catholic advocates in the nation, joined them.

Kay Cole James, one of the original pro-life leaders in the black community, rounded out the group of six award recipients.

Nomination packages have been sent to more than 100 leaders of pro-life organizations and those pro-life activists and leaders will select the finalists for the Life Prizes awards. The selection committee will announce the winners in October and awards will be given at a ceremony in Washington in January.

Awards totaling up to $600,000 will be presented to winners of the Life Prizes at an awards ceremony held in conjunction with Students for Life of America’s annual conference during the week of the March for Life.

Related web sites:
Life Prizes – https://www.lifeprizes.org

 

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