Peggy Hartshorn wins Life Prize

Heartbeat President Peggy Hartshorn Wins First Life Prize
Awarded to Greatest Heroes in the Pro-Life Movement

“The accomplishments of these pro-life heroes are diverse, valiant, and nothing short of inspiring,” stated Raymond Ruddy, President of the Gerard Health Foundation. “They are the movement’s most successful champions of life and their achievements will inspire future pro-life generations to be bold and brilliant in undertaking the many challenges that lie ahead in spreading a culture of life.”

Heartbeat International President Peggy Hartshorn, Ph.D. was named a winner of Gerard Health Foundation’s inaugural Life Prizes awards, granted to six individuals or groups that have made unsurpassed strides in preserving and upholding the sanctity of human life.

"I feel privileged to accept one of the first Life Prizes awards as a representative of the thousands of people who provide compassionate care and resources every day so that countless women can courageously choose life for their unborn children,” said Peggy. “It is my hope that the Life Prizes program inspires the next generation of young people who are crucial to sustaining and spreading the network of local support that Heartbeat International has worked so hard to make available, so that abortion becomes unwanted, even unthinkable."

Peggy has dedicated her life to the pro-life ministry of helping women in crisis pregnancies since 1973 in a number of capacities. She and her husband Michael founded Pregnancy Decision Health Centers in Columbus, Ohio where Peggy served as Chairman of the Board for more than 20 years. In 1986, Peggy joined the Board of Heartbeat International and grew the ministry into a preeminent network of more than 1,000 pregnancy resource centers and more than 25,000 volunteers around the world. She is in her 15th year as president of this vital pregnancy support network that has directly saved the lives of innumerable unborn children and their mothers from abortion.

“None have directly saved as many lives as Peggy and her network of volunteers. We applaud Peggy for her ministry and dedication to advocate on behalf of women and children,” said Cathy Ruse, Executive Director of Life Prizes.

The Life Prizes winners were measured by their success in saving lives and selected for best demonstrating their leadership and progress in pro-life achievements through public advocacy, scientific research, legal action, outreach and public discourse activities. More than 100 nominations were submitted to the Gerard Health Foundation which worked in conjunction with Cathy Ruse and the Selection Advisory Committee to evaluate each nomination and select the recipients. Members of the committee who brought their own advocacy expertise and knowledge of the pro-life movement include Archbishop of Denver Charles Chaput, the Reverend Dr. Alveda King, Ambassador Ray Flynn, and Professor Hadley Arkes of Amherst College.

The $600,000 in total prizes will be divided among all of this year’s recipients at a ceremony held in Washington, DC on January 23, 2009. The other five winners include:

American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) – Association of pro-life physicians that saves lives by remaining steadfastly committed to life within a stridently pro-abortion profession and which conducts research, writing, and public advocacy especially on the negative impact of abortion on women.

Kay Coles James – Founder and President of The Gloucester Institute, an outreach and education initiative for young African Americans focused on developing solutions for the challenges facing communities today, utilizing lessons learned from the civil rights movement, including a recognition that the first civil right is life itself. She and her husband, Charles James, have worked to advance the pro-life cause for three decades as advocates in the highest levels of government, including the Reagan and both Bush presidential administrations and as founders of a pregnancy resource center and Black Americans for Life.

Richard Doerflinger – Associate Director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, bioethics expert, consummate researcher, and has been involved in almost every major pro-life legislative initiative since 1980. He has contributed behind the scenes to all major pro-life statements from the Catholic bishops during the last quarter century.

Jill Stanek – Nurse who first publicly exposed infanticide of abortion survivors, Born-Alive Infant Protection Act proponent and chief witness, and prolific writer who uses the media and her popular blog to continue revealing the truth about late-term abortion.

Lila Rose – Founder of student pro-life organization Live Action and President of its UCLA chapter. She has launched several successful, undercover investigations that exposed the racism and statutory rape cover-up by Planned Parenthood.

Life Prizes is a program that awards those who have succeeded in awakening the conscience of America to uphold and preserve the sanctity of human life through their leadership and advances in public advocacy, scientific research, outreach and public disclosure activities, legal action, and other noteworthy achievements. The award is named the “Norinne A. and Raymond E. Ruddy Memorial Pro-Life Prize” to memorialize Mr. and Mrs. Raymond E. Ruddy, strong believers in the pro-life cause and parents of Raymond B. Ruddy, a pro-life philanthropist who has long supported and donated to life causes and charities throughout the world. In addition to recognizing those on the front lines of saving lives and who have most significantly advanced pro-life principles and practices, the initiative seeks to encourage and inspire the next generation of youth to accomplish great things in the name of life.