Amidst the fury of one of the most heated debates on Notre Dame's campus this year, the Notre Dame Right to Life Club will be holding its annual conference Friday and Saturday.
Sophomore Holly Klejeski, the conference's coordinator, said she has been preparing for the 2009 Right to Life Conference since this time last year.
Klejeski said it is the club's hope is "that the Conference can be an opportunity for rational consideration and discussion of a variety of life issues."
Klejeski said the club is excited because several speakers have agreed to attend and give lectures. Part of the club's mission is to "engage in a variety of activities including prayer, service, and education," and the conference will offer inspiration in these areas.
The events will kick off with a lecture entitled "A Moral Foundation for the Helping Professions: Medicine, Law, Ministry, and Teaching," given by Dr. Edmund Pellegrino, senior fellow of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity at Notre Dame.
Saturday's events include a Mass, breakfast and a lecture by Lisa Everett called "The Family as the Sanctuary of Life" in 101 Jordan Hall at 10:15 a.m. Everett works for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend's Office of Family Life.
Chris Godfrey, a formal NFL player and a graduate of the Notre Dame Law School, will give a talk Saturday entitled "Life Athletes: Where Do You Live." Godfrey is the founding president of Life Athletes, Inc., whose mission is to stand for "Virtue, Abstinence, and Respect."
Dr. Elizabeth Shadigan of WomenSafe Health Consulting will also speak about the long-term health effects of abortion.
Francis Beckwith, a philosopher and this year's Senior Visiting Fellow with Notre Dame's Center for Ethics and Culture, will give a lecture titled, "What the Abortion Debate is Really About." He is the author of the recent book "Defending Life: A Legal and Moral Case Against Abortion."
The conference ends with a talk given by Chaunie Brusie of Feminists for Life. Her talk is called "Say NO to the Status Quo: Support for Women and Children."
