By Michael Ciccocioppo, Executive Director
On behalf of the board of directors, chapters, staff, volunteers and the tens of thousands of grassroots members of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, I congratulate our Legislative/Political Action Committee Director Maria Gallagher for being selected as the Person of the Year 2020 by the Society of St. Sebastian.
Maria has been a lynchpin of the pro-life movement for a number of years. Prior to joining our staff, Maria honed her pro-life advocacy skills at our sister organization, Ohio Right to Life. During her 18 years at the Federation she has gained a well-deserved reputation across our state as the ‘go-to’ person on any topic related to the defense of the right to life.
Maria is the tip of the spear when it comes to fighting for good pro-life legislation and stopping any legislation which erodes the right to life. She bravely speaks truth to power when human lives are to be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency!
Maria is a prolific pro-life writer who is featured across the country by National Right to Life News Today and LifeNews.com.
Dave Andrusko, editor of National Right to Life News Today, had high praise for Ms. Gallagher, “Maria Gallagher is as gracious as she is talented and as willing to help at the drop of a hat as any writer I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. Her life-affirming, upbeat stories for National Right to Life News Today (which I often ask her to write at the eleventh hour) invariably receive the most ‘likes’ and ‘retweets.’ She is a gold mine of pro-life information and an instrumental contributor to the Pro-Life Movement.”
Steven Ertelt, editor & founder of LifeNews.com, had this to say about Ms. Gallagher, “Maria is an amazing writer with a gift for pro-life storytelling. She has an uncanny ability to relate the pro-life message in feature stories and vignettes that touch the heart and soul. Her writing encourages people to consider the pro-life perspective or take action on their existing pro-life beliefs. Millions of people have read Maria’s work in LifeNews.com — perhaps even without knowing it. We’ll never how many people Maria has touched through her compelling writing but she is a pro-life treasure.”
Joe Kral, president of the Society of St. Sebastian, pointed out that Maria’s periodic articles for the Society’s pro-life weekly, Sebastian’s Point, are always on point and terrific. He stated, “Without a doubt, Ms. Gallagher has been a tremendous asset. She constantly shows her love of human life and her ability to reach out to both politician and everyday citizen on these important issues. Maria’s hard work models the very essence of what St. Sebastian inspires us to do today.”
The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation commends the Society of St. Sebastian for recognizing Maria’s outstanding sustained contributions to the pro-life movement. The Society has amassed a tremendous body of pro-life scholarship for which we express our most sincere gratitude.