"Horizons of Hope: The End of Roe" "Horizons of Hope: The End of Roe"

2007 Conference Speakers

Thomas Brejcha
Thomas L. Brejcha is the Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Society Pro-Life Law Center based in Chicago. Tom received his undergraduate degree from Notre Dame University and his law degree from New York University. Following law school he served in the United States Army in Vietnam. He was the lead counsel in the NOW v. Scheidler federal RICO case, ultimately winning a victory for the pro-life defendants after three trips to the United States Supreme Court. This high profile case has led other pro-life clients to seek legal counsel from Mr. Brecha on such issues as conscience clauses and the First Amendment.
Annie Casselman
Annie Casselman is the director of Generations for Life, the youth outreach of the Pro-Life Action League. She is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago. Before joining the Pro-Life Action League, Annie worked in parish youth ministry for four years. She continues to speak frequently to junior high and high school groups on the subjects of pro-life and chastity. By working with teens to start up pro-life clubs in their schools, churches and other youth groups with her Generations for Life Curriculum, Annie is raising up a new pro-life generation educated about and committed to the life issues.
Dr. Eugene Diamond
Dr. Eugene F. Diamond is a giant in the pro-life movement. He has been a practicing pediatrician since 1955. Dr. Diamond received his BA from the University of Notre Dame and his medical degree from Loyola University. He trained in pediatrics at the University of Chicago. Dr. Diamond is currently a professor or pediatrics at Loyola University School of Medicine and a visiting professor at Rush Medical College. He is medical director of Birthright of Chicago and a member of the board of directors of Birthright International. He is founder and secretary of the American Association of Pro-Life Pediatricians, as well as a founding director of Americans United for Life and of Illinois Right to Life Committee. Dr. Diamond was the principal litigant in the Supreme Court anti-abortion case, Diamond v. Charles. He authored the pro-life books, This Curette for Hire and The Positive Values of Chastity.
Rep. Roger W. Hunt
Roger W. Hunt (R) represents Lincoln and Minnehaha counties in the South Dakota House or Representatives. He was the primary sponsor of the state-wide abortion ban enacted by the South Dakota Legislature and Governor Mike Rounds in February 2006 but overturned on by a ballot initiative in the Novmber 2006 general election.
John Jansen
John Jansen is the co-director of Generations for Life, the youth outreach of the Pro-Life Action League. He is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago, and has long been involved in pro-life activities. Before joining Generations for Life, he taught religion and social studies to junior high and high school students for four years and moderated two pro-life clubs, gaining valuable experience for his work at GFL. John speaks frequently to junior high and high school groups on the subjects of pro-life and chastity.
Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki
Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki serves as Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago and the Vicar for Vicariate IV on Chicago's northwest side and the near western suburbs. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1978 and elevated to bishop in 2003. Bishop Paprocki holds a law degree from DePaul University and a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He served as Chancellor of the Archdiocese from 1992-2000. He is president of the Chicago Legal Clinic which provides legal services to poor and disadvantaged Chicagoans. Bishop Paprocki has been a strong voice for the unborn and attracted media attention for publicly criticizing Governor Rod Blagoeivich for ordering pharmacists to go against their consciences and fill prescriptions for the morning-after pill. Bishop Paprocki is also a hockey player and marathon runner, both of which he says are good preparation for his duties as a bishop.
Peter Roskam, Award Presenter
Peter Roskam is the U.S. Representative from the Sixth District of Illinois. A graduate of the University of Illinois, he earned his law degree from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, and taught high school history and government in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Following law school, Peter worked for Congressman Henry Hyde (R-IL) and freshman Congressman Tom DeLay (R-TX). It was during these years on Capitol Hill that Peter met his wife Elizabeth and moved back to Illinois to raise a family. In 1993 Peter was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives where he served six years. In 2000, he was appointed to the Illinois Senate and served in the leadership as the Republican Whip and Floor Leader. He has received numerous awards from businesses and anti-tax, health care and pro-family organizations. Now in the U. S. Congress, Peter serves on the House Financial Services Committee and other important sub-committees. Congressman Roskam and his wife Elizabeth live in Wheaton, where they are raising their four children, Gracey, Frankie, Steve and AJ.
Sandy Rios, Master of Ceremonies
Sandy Rios is the president of Culture Campaign, a web-based outreach to young conservative adults to connect them to the organizations that champion the causes they care about. Sandy is best known to Chicago area pro-lifers from her role as the talk show host of Sandy Rios Live on WYLL, where she regularly invited pro-life leaders and activists to discuss current events, legislative action and effective opposition to abortion.
Eric Scheidler
Eric Scheidler is the Communications Director of the Pro-Life Action League. He coordinates many League events, including Face the Truth Tours, and speaks frequently on pro-life activism, marriage and the family, as well as working closely with the League's youth outreach division, Generations for Life. Eric is the oldest of the seven Scheidler children. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois and a master's degree in English studies from the University of Georgia. He lives in Aurora, IL with his wife April and their seven children. Eric blogs at Square Zero.
Chris Slattery
Chris Slattery is the Founder and President of Expectant Mother Care, a network of ten pregnancy resource centers operating in four of the five boroughs of New York and serving 4,600 women every year. Expectant Mother Care has served over 60,000 clients since being founded by Slattery in 1985. In 2002, Slattery defeated the efforts of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to shut down PRCs in New York for "false advertising," through a grass-roots public education campaign so effective that other pro-abortion attorneys general have backed off similar schemes.
Fr. K. Anthony Spengler
Fr. K. Anthony Spengler was ordained to the Orthodox priesthood in 1978. He holds degrees in philosophy, theology, liturgical music and library science. He has served as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force and a media resource consultant with the Chicago Board of Education. He currently serves Saint Panteleimon Orthodox Church (OCA) in Argo-Summit, Illinois. He and his wife Roberta, who is the Orthodox Christians for Life Liaison to Speak out Illinois, reside in Lombard, Illinois. They have four grown children and seven grandchildren.
Vicki Thorn
Vicky Thorn heads the National Office of Post Abortion Reconcilation and Healing and founded Project Rachel in 1984. She is a noted expert on the psychology of women suffering the aftermath of abortion.
Updated 11/10/06