Many reasons to truly celebrate at this year’s Celebrate Life dinner
Christian filmmaker Alex Kendrick addresses nearly 900 people at Right to Life of Indianapolis’ Celebrate Life event on Sept. 20 at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown. (Submitted photo by Maria Hernandez)
By Natalie Hoefer
Each year, Right to Life of Indianapolis (RTLI) hosts a fundraiser dinner called Celebrate Life. And each year, there have been small victories and progress to celebrate in the battle to save unborn lives and promote a culture of life.
But this year, the cause to celebrate exceeded all years past.
“This year, Indiana has joined the ranks of those states with strong protections for the preborn,” said RTLI executive director Marc Tuttle.
“It has been a rocky road getting there,” he said, referring to the legal challenge by Planned Parenthood and others to a 2022 law restricting most abortions in the state. The law was upheld by the Indiana Supreme Court on June 30.
“But finally we can announce that, [according to the new law] in Indiana, abortion is only allowed to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape, incest or fatal fetal anomaly, and that will end about 98% of the abortions.”
His comments were followed by a rousing round of applause by the nearly 900 people present at the Celebrate Life event held on Sept. 20 at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown. (Related: Indiana Right to Life to host Christmas Gala on Dec. 5)
The evening included speakers, awards and a keynote address by Christian filmmaker Alex Kendrick, known for such movies as Facing the Giants, Fireproof, Courage, War Room and Lifemark.
“None of these accomplishments would have been possible without each of you standing up for life,” Tuttle said. “Now that the law has been set, the culture is our focus.”
‘No legislation can cure’ culture of death
It is a culture that allowed about 8,000 babies to be aborted each year in Indiana prior to the new law, Tuttle noted.
“Those are 8,000 women who need our assistance,” he said. “Those are 8,000 women who are looking for alternatives, who are looking for help. It’s up to us to be the generous, warm, kind Hoosiers to offer them something other than the horrible choice of abortion.”
Such assistance received a boost with “about $11 million set aside in this last [state] budget specifically to help pregnant mothers,” he noted.
State Attorney General Todd Rokita praised the work of “courageous legislators” who made the new Indiana law and the financial assistance possible.
“You can’t imagine how difficult it was at the statehouse right after Roe v. Wade” was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022, he said. “But those legislators got in the ring and did the right thing.”
He noted the value of every life, including his and his wife Kathy’s son, Teddy, who has Angelman syndrome.
“He doesn’t speak, and his capacities are severely diminished,” said Rokita. “Some people think disabilities like Teddy’s should be cause for abortion.
“But he wears a big smile, and he would give anyone in this room the biggest hug. It’s through those hugs that Kathy and I know that Teddy is going to change the world.”
He cautioned that, despite the abortion-restricting law, the fight for a culture of life “isn’t over, not by any stretch.
“We have to think not just about the innocent unborn, but also the mother and the whole family. Whatever our social issues are, whatever our economic issues are, they can be traced back to whether or not we have a strong family unit. There’s no legislation that can cure that. Only we can cure that.
“We must not weary in doing good,” he said, quoting Galatians 6:9. “We must stay strong in [God’s] strength and face the adversaries who believe in the culture of death.”
‘How many more souls will you let go missing?’
To nurture the next generation of pro-life advocates, RTLI offers annual art, essay and speech contests and a scholarship.
The work of this year’s art contest winner graced the cover of the event program, while the writings of the essay contest winners were included inside the program.
Maria Thomas of St. Mark the Evangelist Parish in Indianapolis was recognized as the Joan Byrum Pro-Life Scholarship winner for her four years as co-president of the Right to Life Club at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis. She is now a student at Indiana University in Bloomington.
This year’s oratory contest winner, Sara Cabrera of St. Thomas More Parish in Mooresville, delivered her speech to the crowd of nearly 900.
She said that, according to the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute, more than 73 million abortions take place globally per year (bit.ly/GuttmacherStats).
Considering that 6 million people were killed during the Holocaust, “That’s the Holocaust over 12 times each year,” said Sara. “This is a sign of a dying civilization.”
She also noted that in the United States she can “get an abortion at my age [16] without my parents ever finding out, but I can’t [legally] buy Wite-Out at the store, get a tattoo or even see an abortion at an R-rated movie without them.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 827,609 abortions took place in the U.S. in 2007, the year Sara was born.
“That’s how many people my age are missing,” she said. “How many more souls will you let go missing from this next generation?”
‘Go after the next generation’
Two awards were also presented to adults that evening. Donnita Smith received the Charles E. Stimming, Sr., Pro-Life Award for her 14 years volunteering as the organization’s human resources specialist, and Melissa Coles of the Columbus area was honored with RTLI’s Respect for Life Award.
“Melissa didn’t start off seeking to have a profound impact on life,” said Tuttle. “She simply said yes, and she simply continued to say yes as her story began to unfold and as God began to use her in ways that she could have never imagined to be able to touch hearts and to eventually save lives.”
Coles called her husband Shawn to the podium to receive the award with her, noting “he was the one who really encouraged me to start using the word ‘yes.’ ”
That “yes” led to her pro-life story being made into the documentary I Lived on Parker Avenue and the 2022 theatrical film Lifemark, as well as Lifeprint: The Power of One Yes, her autobiography that was independently published in October.
Coles introduced the keynote speaker Alex Kendrick of Kendrick Brothers, which produced Lifemark. He shared the story of how he became a Christian filmmaker, the role God played in his journey and the lessons he learned along the way.
He encouraged those present to pursue the next generation.
“Whoever wants the next generation the most is going to get them,” Kendrick said. “The world wants their hearts, their minds, their loyalties, their perspectives, their morals.
“The body of Christ that loves the Lord has to go after the next generation. Whatever your sphere is, … wherever you are, that’s where you go after them … with a desire to honor and glorify God, and let God be the hero of your story.” †
