WASHINGTON, D.C., January 29, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) — Jailed Canadian pro-life heroine Mary Wagner and Chicago-based pro-life lawyer Thomas Brejcha received the Law of Life Achievement Award at the annual Law of Life Summit last week in Washington, D.C, one day prior to the January 22 March for Life.
The annual award, given to those who have made enormous sacrifices for the pro-life movement, is a framed replica of the nail used to hold the feet of Christ to the cross.
Mary Wagner, who is currently in jail for entering a Toronto abortion clinic in December to peacefully minister to abortion-bound women, received the award for her selfless and heroic witness to life.
“[Mary] is a young beautiful woman who has taken it upon herself to go right into the abortuaries, to sit in the waiting rooms and calmly, prayerfully, and peacefully tell the women — on the inside — ‘You don’t have to do this. We have help for you,’” said LifeSiteNews editor-in-chief John-Henry Westen, who accepted the award on Wagner’s behalf.
“[For this,] she is yelled at, screamed at, and jailed.”
“She is a hero for life,” he said.
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Tom Brejcha also received the award for leaving a lucrative law career to fight legal cases for the pro-life movement.
Lead organizer Royce Hood said that if it were not for Brejcha, who is the president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society, pro-life activism across the United States would be hampered, if not illegal.
“Because of [these cases], groups like 40 Days For Life and Sidewalk Advocates are allowed to pray in front of abortion clinics without being prosecuted,” he said.
“The thing that Tom really shows is persistent and applied effort,” said Peter Breen, who accepted the award on Brejcha’s behalf.
The Law of Life Summit brings together pro-life leaders, students, and activists to “create measurable and achievable objectives for defending the sanctity of human life.” Speakers at this year’s event included Jill Stanek, Lila Rose, David Bereit, and Father Frank Pavone.
For more of LifeSiteNews' in-depth, original coverage of the 2015 March for Life in Washington, D.C., click here.