$50k Grant Elevates, Celebrates & Accelerates Healing for People Alive After Attempted Abortion as Babies



NEWS PROVIDED BY
National Prayer Luncheon for Life
April 21, 2023

DALLAS, April 21, 2023 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Abortion Survivors Network, an organization providing support and healing for adults and children who survived attempted abortion, has been named the winner of the 2023 National Prayer Luncheon for Life Pro-Life Impact Award and given a $50,000 grant for their continued pro-life work. The Abortion Survivors Network, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, was selected by voters from among six top finalists chosen for recognition out of a field of 120 nominated organizations. Thousands of life advocates gathered online and in person on April 21, 2023, to elevate, celebrate, and accelerate the work of these high-impact pro-life organizations.

Each of the top six nominated organizations received a National Prayer Luncheon for Life Pro-Life Impact Grant. Second place vote getter, Good Counsel Homes, a network of maternity homes serving homeless women and children operating out of Secaucus, New Jersey, claimed a $20,000 grant. The organization was lauded for providing safe, nurturing environments and comprehensive help for pregnant mothers and their children. ThriVe® Express Women's Healthcare received $15,000 to further expand its pro-woman medical model aimed at the abortion-determined woman and was recognized as the country's strategy leader in the "pregnancy care center" movement.

Melissa Ohden, founder of The Abortion Survivors Network, accepted the title award and the top grant of $50,000, thanking the National Prayer Luncheon for Life, and briefly sharing her own story of surviving a saline abortion when she was 31 weeks old in her mother's womb. She emphasized that people survived abortions long before Roe v. Wade was decided, and continue to do so. Ohden shared how the grant will help The Abortion Survivors Network continue its life-affirming work of telling the stories of the more than 85,000 women and men who have lived despite attempted termination in the womb.

The remaining nominees included Equal Rights Institute, which trains pro-life advocates to compassionately and effectively make the case for life, Human Life Alliance, which provides quality pro-life resources and education, and Natural Women's Health, a God-centered, pro-life, holistic gynecology and fertility health medical practice which also provides abortion pill reversal services. Each of these nominees were honored with a $5,000 National Prayer Luncheon for Life Pro-Life Impact Grant.

Live Action took home the 2022 National Prayer Luncheon for Life Pro-Life Impact Award for the organization's powerful influence in social media and its investigative exposés of the abortion industry. Live Action news correspondent Christine Bennett was on hand to help pass the baton to the newly selected honoree for the 2023 title.

Bennett, herself almost aborted, thanked supporters for being "givers" in contrast to Planned Parenthood's "takers" and lamented the millions of babies, many of them African American, "whose lives were stolen from them."

The crowd welcomed Catherine Hadro, EWTN news contributor and founding host of EWTN Pro-Life Weekly, who served as emcee for the event. Hadro rejoiced that 32,000 fewer children were aborted in the six months following the United States Supreme Court Dobbs decision but reminded all that there is still much work – and prayer – to be done.

Aurora Tinajero, National Coordinator for Latinos por La Vida, spoke of Planned Parenthood's massive efforts targeting Hispanic communities – inveigling them into its "web of lies and deception." She pointed to a startling statistic: Hispanic people make up 18 percent of the United States' population yet represent 21 percent of abortions.

The Most Reverend Greg Kelly, Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas, spoke on behalf of life, acknowledging that God holds the power in the world and "in our hearts." He commended each of the finalists for their pro-life labors and compared them to the Biblical Good Samaritan.

Pastor Bruce Kendrick, Director of Life Initiatives at Watermark Community Church, told of his journey from having an extra bedroom to fill, on through fostering, and then adopting, children, along with his wife Denise. Together they have nine children, five of whom are adopted, and three grandchildren. He challenged all present to understand that beyond saving at-risk children and healing parents who have experienced abortion, we must resolve the problems that existed to send them along these paths.

"It was wonderful to be able to present pro-life advocates across the country with an opportunity to pray for their organizations, their people, their life-saving work, and to present them with tangible recognition for their tireless work on behalf of life," exclaimed Karen Garnett, National Prayer Luncheon for Life President. "We are honored to be able to acknowledge and reward them for the difference they make."

The award and grants were presented to the winning organizations by Garnett and National Prayer Luncheon for Life Chairman Brett Attebery.

Thousands of people participated in the 2023 National Prayer Luncheon for Life through voting, and many watching online as the recipients of the award and monetary grants received the news in Grapevine, Texas, where an in-person audience gathered for the occasion at the Dallas-area Gaylord Texan Resort. The entire program is available online at https://nationalprayerluncheonforlife.org/2023-event/.

About the National Prayer Luncheon for Life
Originating in 2016 as an in-person event hosted by Heroic Media, the National Prayer Luncheon for Life evolved in 2021 as a year-round initiative to elevate and celebrate high-impact pro-life organizations. The initiative culminates with an annual, largely online "hour of power" event in the Spring, encompassing thousands of participants nationwide to unite in fervent prayer and select, through nationwide voting, the high-impact National Prayer Luncheon for Life Pro-Life Impact Award winner and Pro-Life Impact Grant recipients. National Prayer Luncheon for Life is an initiative of Heroic Media. Learn more at nationalprayerluncheonforlife.org.

SOURCE National Prayer Luncheon for Life

CONTACT: Thomas Ciesielka, 312-422-1333, [email protected]