By James Tillman
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, April 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com)—Former President George W. Bush on Thursday gave the keynote address for a fundraiser for Life Centers, a Christian organization that helps women facing unplanned pregnancies in central Indiana, and encouraged the group to continue with its life-saving work.
Cameras and media were not permitted inside Conseco Fieldhouse, where the fundraiser took place at 7 PM. Roughly 4,000 people attended the event, which Life Center leaders said would be the largest-ever fundraiser for the nonprofit organization.
“He wants to encourage us to continue doing what we're doing and helping those girls in our city who really need to seek our services and don't have places to go,” said Julie Rupprecht of Life Centers of Bush's message, according to local news station WTHR 13.
Life Centers has eight pregnancy centers that provide pregnancy tests, ultrasound exams, counseling, maternity support, and post-abortion support groups. Their mission statement says that they aim to “affirm the value of life by providing a network of care to those experiencing pregnancy-related crisis and by compassionately presenting biblical truth resulting in changed lives to the glory of God.”
Life Centers President Brian Boone had called the event a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate life – with a keynote address from a public servant who made the sanctity of human life a priority.”
During his term as president, Bush signed into law several protections for the unborn, including the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, and the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. He also appointed pro-life justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court, and reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which required all non-governmental organizations receiving federal funding to refrain from performing or promoting abortions in other countries.
In January Legatus, a membership organization for Catholic business leaders, presented Mr. Bush with its prestigious Cardinal John J. O'Connor Pro-Life Award in recognition of his work advancing the rights of the unborn.
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https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jan/10010713.html