WATERBURY – The founders of three successful pro-life organizations will speak at Connecticut Right to Life’s 36th annual convention on Oct. 2. The event begins at 11 a.m. at the Holiday Inn at Coco Key.
Featured speakers will be Margaret (Peggy) Hartshorn, president of Heartbeat International, based in Tampa, Fla.; Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League, based in Stafford, Va.; and Damon Owens, founder of Joy Filled Marriage NJ.
Ms. Hartshorn became involved with the pro-life movement when she heard on the radio on Jan. 22, 1973, that the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion. Her work eventually led to the formation of a pregnancy resource center in Columbus, Ohio, in 1981.
Then, in 1993, she started Heartbeat International, the first life-affirming pregnancy help network founded in the United States and the most expansive in the world, with more than 1,100 affiliates. Heartbeat International is a Christ-centered association of pregnancy help centers, medical clinics, maternity homes, nonprofit adoption agencies and abortion recovery programs.
Ms. Hartshorn has traveled the world helping local organizations start and strengthen ministries that provide alternatives to abortion. Her many awards include the J.C. Penney Golden Rule Award and the Sanctity of Life award from Care Net. She has two adopted children and four grandchildren.
Mr. Sedlak is an expert on Planned Parenthood. He co-founded Stop Planned Parenthood (STOPP), also based in Stafford.
Mr. Sedlak has been a longtime advocate for life. He has three children and 10 grandchildren. He has received numerous pro-life awards and has been featured on "Politically Incorrect" with Bill Maher and also the Dr. Laura Show.
Mr. Owens is the founder of Joy Filled Marriage NJ, a nonprofit organization providing training, resources and support for engaged and married couples that is based on "God’s Plan for a Joy-Filled Marriage," a program first developed in the late 1990s by Christopher West. Mr. Owens lives in West Orange, N.J., with his wife, Melanie, and their six young daughters.
He has written several articles and appeared on such national news shows as "ABC World News Tonight" and "BET Evening News." He has a regular show on EWTN at 10:30 p.m. Fridays.
Registration for the convention opens at 11 a.m. Mass will be celebrated at 11:15. The program begins at noon, includes a banquet at 4 p.m. and ends at 7 p.m.
Information is available from Janet Sayles at (203) 878-4097 or the Connecticut Right to Life Office at (203) 757-5213.
Tickets are $40; $70 for married couples; $20 for students.
