The Gerard Health Foundation today made the much-anticipated announcement of the 2009-2010 winners of its Life Prizes award. The award is granted every year to six individuals or organizations that “have achieved significant progress in promoting the sanctity of human life and are working to protect and preserve it.”

The first Life Prizes awards were presented at a ceremony in 2009. This year’s winners of the $600,000 prize were chosen by a Selection Advisory Committee from 90 nominations submitted to the Foundation. Members of this Committee include Richard Doerflinger of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Peggy Hartshorn of Heartbeat International; Kay Coles James of the Gloucester Institute; and Jack Willke of Life Issues Institute.

“We are pleased to present the second Life Prizes to such deserving recipients,” stated Raymond Ruddy, President of the Gerard Health Foundation. “These six winners are doing some of the pro-life movement’s most important work, and it is right to celebrate their sacrifice and dedication. Each of them is an example to follow and we look forward to their future accomplishments in the cause of life.”

The $600,000 in prize money will be divided among the following six winners. Each name is followed by a description from Life Prizes for why that individual was selected by the committee:

· Jeanne Head – A force to be reckoned with at the United Nations, Jeanne Head left her career as an obstetrics nurse to fight for the protection of the most vulnerable members of the human family on the international stage. As UN Representative for National Right to Life Educational Trust and a Representative of the International Right to Life Federation, she debates the most politically powerful – from the Oval Office to members of the UN Security Council.

· Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network – In 2005, the world watched as a young woman with disabilities was deprived of food and water by order of a judge. Her family has vowed to fight for the right to life of disabled and vulnerable men and women everywhere, and their Foundation has provided assistance to more than 1,000 families through a national network of resources, support, and medical facilities for the medically-dependent, persons with disabilities, and those incapacitated in life-threatening situations.

· Douglas Johnson – The indispensible man behind all of the greatest pro-life victories in Congress since Roe v. Wade is National Right to Life Committee Legislative Director Doug Johnson. His keen strategy and consummate research have served the pro-life movement from behind the scenes for three decades.

· Kristan Hawkins – Young people today are overwhelmingly pro-life, and Students for Life of America and its Executive Director Kristan Hawkins have taken a leading role in engaging young people across the country in pro-life efforts through innovative use of the internet and increasing Students for Life chapters by the hundreds.

· Reverend Alveda King – It is altogether fitting that the niece of Martin Luther King, Jr. would become one of the most important leaders in the greatest civil rights battle of our day. As founder of King for America, Dr. Alveda King has been the public face of the pro-life movement in the African American community, speaking and advocating for years against abortion and especially the targeting of African Americans.

· Marie Smith – There is a global pro-abortion agenda and Marie Smith has made it her mission to identify, unite, and strategize with pro-life groups, lawmakers, and religious leaders to advance respect for life in law and policy. Ms. Smith is the Director of the Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues, a non-partisan global outreach of Gospel of Life Ministries.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony held in Washington, DC on Saturday, January 22, 2011.

Source: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/nov/10111503.html

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