Tuttle succeeds Byrum as president of Right to Life of Indianapolis
New Right to Life of Indianapolis president Marc Tuttle, right, talks with longtime pro-life volunteer John Hanagan, a member of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Indianapolis, during a recent meeting about the upcoming “Celebrate Life” dinner on Sept. 16 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. (Photo by Mary Ann Wyand)
By Mary Ann Wyand
Since Marc Tuttle joined Right to Life of Indianapolis as its new president on July 1, he has gotten to know many of the pro-life organization’s longtime supporters in central Indiana.
He is looking forward to meeting many more pro-life volunteers during the 26th annual “Celebrate Life” dinner on Sept. 16 at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis.
The Indiana University graduate previously worked 10 years as a researcher for Life Dynamics, a national pro-life organization based in Denton, Texas, then three years as the state communications and development director for Pro-Life Wisconsin based in Brookfield, Wis.
Tuttle succeeds St. Luke the Evangelist parishioner Joan Byrum of Indianapolis, who resigned her 20-year volunteer position as president of the pro-life organization earlier this year due to serious health challenges.
In a letter published in the July 2008 issue of the organization’s newsletter, Byrum wrote that, “Twenty years have passed quickly. I have been very blessed to work for Right to Life of Indianapolis. Although I have always been pro-life, the Lord has brought me to volunteer full time through personal experiences. I am very grateful to him for this as it has been extremely rewarding work.”
Byrum explained that, “due to a debilitating disease, it is necessary for me to turn over the leadership of Right to Life of Indianapolis.”
She also thanked volunteers who have given so much time, talent and treasure to the pro-life movement during the past two decades.
“Your friendship has meant so much to me,” Byrum wrote. “At this difficult time, I am touched by your prayers and kindness, which sustain my family and me.”
During her years as president, Byrum often said that “the difference between the pro-life and pro-abortion philosophies [is that] if you are pro-life, someone lives. If you are pro-abortion, someone dies.”
Tuttle is the organization’s first paid director, and his position was made possible by Byrum’s tireless fundraising efforts over the years.
“In Indianapolis, we have an annual banquet that has close to 1,000 people coming,” Tuttle said. “That is a huge testament to her effectiveness. Through conversations with people, through her daily interaction with people, she has a way of making people passionate about the pro-life issue and getting involved. She created an incredible foundation [for the organization], and leaves very, very large shoes for me to fill.
“It’s a tremendous pleasure to be able to serve the pro-life community in Indianapolis,” he said. “Right to Life of Indianapolis has long had a reputation as a trustworthy source of information about abortion, euthanasia and other legalized threats to human life. I’m looking forward to continuing these educational efforts and doing everything I can to end these life-destroying practices in our city.”
Tuttle grew up in a military family and lived in several states as well as in Europe. He was raised Methodist by his parents, who are native Hoosiers.
He met his wife, Dzintra Brugman, through pro-life student activities at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he headed I.U. Students for Life during the mid-1990s. They were married in her Lutheran faith in 1995 after graduating from college. He later completed a master’s degree in philosophy at the University of Dallas.
They are the parents of three children, Larisa, Bridget and Aija.
Their pro-life activism led them to Catholicism. Since moving to Indianapolis earlier this summer, they have attended Mass at St. Luke the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis.
“When we were at IU, we would protest at Planned Parenthood and were invited to say the Chaplet of Divine Mercy,” Tuttle said.
“… Eventually, people would invite us to say the rosary.”
After studying the Catholic faith and the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, he said, they felt called to join the Church.
“I went from a national pro-life organization to a statewide organization to a local organization,” Tuttle said. “I’ve learned as time went on that the more local you get, the more effective you can be as far as impacting this issue. It has to be person to person. You have to be able to equip pro-life supporters to carry the message to others. It’s got to be neighbor to neighbor, people talking to each other.”
Tuttle said his “experience has been that most people really just don’t think about abortion. It’s not something people are confronted with every day … unless they have been personally affected by it, and there are a large number of people affected by it.”
He said the most effective ways to work to end abortion in society are by educating people as well as ministering to women and men harmed by abortion, who often feel called to share their tragic stories.
“What we do at Right to Life of Indianapolis is … try to create a culture that sees abortion as unacceptable,” Tuttle said. “In a civilized day and age, abortion is not acceptable. … My goal is to make Indianapolis a place where abortion is unacceptable, unnecessary and unthinkable.” †
