By Laura Echevarria
Director of Media Relations
The National Right to Life Educational Trust Fund held its fifth annual "Proudly Pro-Life" Awards Dinner to honor those with a long standing commitment to courageously defending innocent human life. The dinner was held at the world-renowned Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City April 22.
Money from the Proudly Pro-Life Dinner goes to fund programs of the National Right to Life Educational Trust Fund. The Trust Fund, through its educational programs, works to teach the public about the wonders of life and to alert it to the horrors of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia.
This year's award recipients were Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Virgil C. Dechant. Both Sen. Helms and Mr. Dechant were present to receive their awards in person.
Sen. Helms was honored by former Vice President Dan Quayle through a recorded video presentation. David N. O'Steen, Ph.D., NRLC executive director, presented the award. Sen. Helms, in return, praised the National Right to Life Committee for its unwavering work on behalf of the unborn.
Sen. Helms was honored for his 26 years of stalwart pro-life leadership in the United States Senate. Since his election in 1972 he has voted on the pro-life side 130 times on recorded votes in the Senate. In addition, he has sponsored 27 pro-life amendments and bills since 1973.
In the early years of the pro-life movement, the leadership of Sen. Helms was crucial to the passage of the Hyde Amendment and other measures to restrict the federal funding of abortion.
Mr. Virgil Dechant was introduced by NRLC President Wanda Franz, Ph.D. Mr. Dechant received the Proudly Pro-Life Award, he said, on behalf of all members of the Knights of Columbus. He also had great praise for NRLC for its many years of service on behalf of the vulnerable. Mr. Dechant has served as the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus since 1977.
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic family fraternal service organization with 1.6 million members. As a direct result of Mr. Dechant's strong pro-life leadership, the Supreme Office of the Knights of Columbus and state and local councils have contributed millions of dollars over the years to the pro-life cause through donations and in-kind contributions. In addition, under Mr. Dechant's leadership, the Knights of Columbus have distributed millions of pieces of pro-life literature.
The evening's Master of Ceremonies was actor, professor, lawyer, and writer Mr. Ben Stein. Mr. Stein lavishly praised the work of NRLC and its staff. He reminded everyone that our current culture of death could "be changed one by one."
The honorary chairman for the dinner was Mr. Pat Boone, international recording artist, composer and actor. Mr. Boone sang "There is a Better Way" and showed a pro-life video that he produced after being influenced by President Ronald Reagan's wonderful pro-life book Abortion and the Conscience of America.
The evening's invocation was delivered by Archbishop Renato R. Martino, apostolic nuncio and permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. The Benediction was given by the Rev. David Benke.
Hearty cheers went up when Ben Stein called out the names of the 26 universities and colleges represented at the dinner by hundreds of pro-life college students. "At some of these colleges, it must be extraordinarily difficult to stand up for human life," said Mr. Stein.
The 1998 Annual Meeting
of the Association for
Interdisciplinary Research in Values and Social Change will be held:
Wednesday, June 17, 1998
Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport Hotel
Orlando, Florida
8:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
The general public is invited and there is no charge
to attend. Presenters are:
Keith Cassidy, Ph.D. - Historical Aspects of the Pro-Life Movement
Michael J. Reznicek, M.D. - Misuse of Science to Promote Abortion
Priscilla Coleman, ABD. - Adolescent and Adult Psychological Reactions
to Abortion
Thomas Strahan, J.D. - Abortion Research on the Internet