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NRL News
Kay James
and Richard Doerflinger Honored with Life Prizes Kay Coles James and Richard Doerflinger were awarded Life Prizes on January 23 at a Gala Reception and Concert at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., attended by over 1,200 guests. Kay James and Richard Doerflinger are well known to National Right to Life members and grassroots state and chapter members in thousands of communities across the nation. They have been frequent speakers and educators at NRL Conventions and other events. Both have a long history of service to the Pro-Life Movement. Kay Coles James For over three decades Kay Coles James and her husband Charles James have been a powerful team of pro-life advocates. Kay served as NRLC’s public affairs director in the 1980s and Charles currently serves as an at-large director on the Board of Directors of National Right to Life. Pro-life pioneers in the African American community, they founded Black Americans for Life, the first pro-life group designed especially for pro-life African Americans. Kay, a much-in-demand commentator and lecturer, has appeared on many national news and talk programs. Her editorials have been featured in newspapers across the country. In addition, she is the author of three books, including the award-winning autobiography Never Forget. The James team has also brought a strong pro-life presence to the highest levels of government. Kay served three pro-life Presidents in high-level positions, including director of the Office of Personnel Management. Charles served in a top position at the Labor Department in the administration of President George W. Bush. They are now embarking on an ambitious new educational project which shows promise of being a significant, permanent addition to the American scene. Kay and Charles have founded the Gloucester Institute, which is rebuilding the campus of a historic African American site located in Virginia. Together they have begun educating a new generation of talented young African American leaders. The Gloucester Institute is focused on developing solutions for the challenges facing communities today by utilizing lessons learned from the civil rights movement, including recognition that the first civil right is life itself. Richard Doerflinger Richard Doerflinger is the associate director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-life Activities. He is a bioethics expert and consummate researcher who has been involved in almost every major pro-life initiative in Congress since 1980. He has contributed to all the pro-life efforts and statements of the U.S. Catholic bishops in the last quarter century. Commonly described as a “walking encyclopedia,” Richard has published dozens of articles and testified numerous times before legislative bodies. He has served as a chief researcher and drafter of many important statements issued by the U.S. Bishops’ Conference. In 2008 Richard received the William Wilberforce Award from the National Lawyers Association. This award is given to those who dedicate their lifetime to a just cause. In his speech accepting his Life Prize, Mr. Doerflinger acknowledged the challenges facing the pro-life movement. “Ours are the facts people may not want to hear, the arguments they evade if they can,” he said. “Our message confronts them with responsibilities instead of making them go away.” He called on others, especially young adults “in all academic fields—ethics, law, science, medicine—to place their skills at the service of life.” There were four other Life Prize honorees: the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists; Margaret Hartshorn, president of Heartbeat International; nurse, writer, and activist Jill Stanek; and Lila Rose, founder of student pro-life organization Live Action and president of its UCLA chapter. The Life Prizes of $100,000 for each recipient were awarded by the Gerard Health Foundation, the private charity foundation of pro-life philanthropists Raymond B. and Marilyn A. Ruddy. The award is named the “Norinne A. and Raymond E. Ruddy Memorial Pro-Life Prize” in honor of Mr. Ruddy’s parents who were strong believers in the pro-life cause. |