NINTH ANNUAL PROUDLY PRO-LIFE AWARDS DINNER HONORS ARCHBISHOP MARTINO AND DR. DOBSON.(Renato Martino and James Dobson)

Heroes. From the opening color guard presentation, which included heroes from the New York and Port Authority police departments, to praises for pro-life heroes in the keynote speeches, the Ninth Annual Proudly Pro-Life Awards Dinner in New York City had a special significance this year.

The dinner is a charity fundraising event for the National Right to Life Educational Trust Fund. Past honorees have included Pope John Paul II, former President Ronald Reagan, Mother Teresa, Sen. Jesse Helms, and Rep. Henry Hyde, among others. This year, the NRL Educational Trust Fund honored Dr. James Dobson and Archbishop Renato Martino for their dedicated, lifelong pro-life work.

Master of Ceremonies Ben Stein noted that many of the men who presented the flag in the color guard were among the police units that saved thousands of lives in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attack on New York City.

But Stein also talked about the heroes of the pro-life movement, those who toil every day to make sure a child has a chance to live. And Stein expressed optimism about the next generation of pro-life activists, as he read a list of colleges attending the dinner. The list included schools from the Ivy League, the Midwest, and the Southeast; and schools as far away as Stanford.

?To receive an award from the National Right to Life is an honor, indeed. Only God knows how many human beings owe their existence to the work of this organization.?

--Dr. James Dobson

National Right to Life President Dr. Wanda Franz brought loud applause with her explanation that ?this is the ninth time we are having the dinner, and one of these times in the future we will have a Victory Dinner to celebrate the restoration of the right to life in America.?