Note: People For Life, Inc. issued the following news release to the media Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023:
People for Life will host 630 guests this Saturday at the 45th Annual Pro-Life Breakfast. This is an unusually large attendance number, and the event is a sellout. Last year in the wake of COVID it was only 350. The Breakfast is being held at the Bayfront Convention Center. Doors will open at 8 a.m., and the program will begin at 9 a.m. The event will conclude at approximately 11:30 a.m.
The Pro-Life Breakfast is traditionally held each year near the anniversary of the January 22, 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which banned practically all protection for pre-born children from abortion.
The Breakfast is open to the entire community. But this year’s event is a sellout. The registration window had to be closed yesterday, Monday afternoon. The primary purpose of the Breakfast is to inform, inspire, and foster new ties of friendship among people in the Erie-area.
The Main Speaker will be Patricia Sandoval. She will share perhaps the most remarkable and moving story ever heard at our annual gathering.
Patricia’s life as a second-generation Mexican-American began in a happy, sheltered family environment, but problems developed and her family eventually unraveled. In her early 20s, she was facing a hopeless existence as a homeless drug addict. During this time, she had three abortions and took a job at a Planned Parenthood abortion facility. Today, however, Patricia is an international speaker and the author of an amazing autobiography titled, Transfigured, a story about forgiveness and redemption, and the bumpy road back from the darkness, as well. The book is a real tearjerker.
People for Life shares the natural inclination of pro-life people everywhere to reach out to woman who have experienced an abortion, nonjudgmentally, with understanding and concern. There are many women who, after experiencing abortion regrets, have dedicated themselves to sharing the pro-life message about the value of each human life. These are women who are anxious to be of service to other women experiencing challenges due to pregnancy or emotional difficulties after abortion. There are always some women like this among the people who are active in our organization.
Other speakers include: Sarah White and Joe Preston, President and Vice president respectively of the Gannon University Students for Life organization; Maia Austin and Pranuthi Gadde, Co-presidents of Students for Life at LECOM; Garth Valesky, President of Crawford County Citizens for Life; U.S. Representative Mike Kelly; and Catholic Bishop Lawrence Persico;
Our emcee will be one of People for Life’s newest board members, Karli Van Der Volgen, an RN, mother of three young children, and a People for Life volunteer for a number of years.
The Pro-Life Breakfast is one of three events that People for Life organizes each January. On Thursday evening, January 19, a bus chartered by People for Life will depart for Washington, DC and the 50th Annual March for Life, the first since the repeal of Roe v. Wade, in our nation’s capital. Then on January 28, we will sponsor the Erie March for Life in downtown Erie.
More information about the Pro-Life Breakfast and our other two events this month is available at: peopleforlife.org/january2023.
