FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 1, 2012
Contact: Mallory Quigley, (202) 223-8073
Event Hosted by Mary Katharine Ham Highlights Pro-life Trailblazers
Washington, D.C – Tonight, the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) will host its fifth annual Campaign for Life Gala at 6:30 PM at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida will keynote the event, emceed by Mistress of Ceremonies Mary Katharine Ham, co-host of WMAL radio’s “The Morning Majority.” The event is open to press.
“Senator Rubio is a valiant defender of unborn children, their mothers, and the conscience rights of pro-life Americans,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List. We look forward to hearing Sen. Rubio’s unmatched eloquence tonight and benefiting from his continued leadership for life in the U.S. Senate.”
Tonight, Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (NY-25) will receive the annual Susan B. Anthony List Distinguished Leader Award.
“Ann Marie Buerkle is a tireless advocate for unborn children, women and pro-life taxpayers,” said Dannenfelser. “Congresswoman Buerkle has co-sponsored and advocated for nearly every pro-life bill in Congress including the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, the Protect Life Act, the Abortion Nondiscrimination Act (ANDA), the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act and the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA). She is the embodiment of the authentic pro-life feminism championed by the early suffragists and her leadership is an invaluable example to the next generation of women.”
Five young pro-life women leaders will be honored with the annual Susan B. Anthony Young Leader Award:
Lindsey Craig — Since January 2009, Lindsey has served as a Legislative Assistant to Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN). In that capacity she has assisted Rep. Pence in leading the charge to protect taxpayers’ desire not to fund Planned Parenthood. In 2011, she initiated and helped author the Pence Amendment, which passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Ashley McGuire — Currently a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow, Ashley is working on a book about a post-feminist woman. She is the Richard John Neuhaus Fellow at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and founder and editor-in-chief of Altcatholicah, a webzine devoted to the exploration of faith and gender.
Kortney Blythe Gordon — In June 2010 Kortney joined Students for Life of America as Field Director, travelling nationwide to mobilize, activate and train new and existing pro-life groups. Under her direction, the SFLA Field Department closed the fall 2011 semester with more than 670 affiliated student groups. In October 2011, Kortney and her unborn daughter Sophy tragically passed away in a car accident while returning from a Students for Life conference. The collision also claimed the life of her fellow SFLA staff member Jon Scharfenberger. Kortney’s husband will accept the award on her behalf.
Laura Wegmann — A senior at Hillsdale College, Laura spent the summer of 2011 as an intern at the Susan B. Anthony List working to advance the pro-life cause through the promotion of pro-life women in public office. Currently Laura serves as an alternate director to the National Right to Life Committee board of directors on behalf of Indiana Right to Life and its President Mike Fichter.
Elizabeth McClung — Known as the face and the voice of the pro-life movement in Austin, Texas, Elizabeth is the founder and Director of the Austin Coalition for Life which works to end abortion peacefully and prayerfully. Elizabeth is one of the pro-life demonstrators who often reached out to and prayed for Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood clinic manager who experienced a pro-life conversion.
The Susan B. Anthony List is a nationwide network of more than 330,000 Americans dedicated to mobilizing, advancing, and representing pro-life women in politics. Its connected Candidate Fund increases the percentage of pro-life women in the political process.
