SULPHUR — Five were honored at the fifth annual Ruth Institute’s Awards Dinner on Friday, June 24, at the West Cal Events Center. The awards were presented as part of a two-day Summit for Survivors of the Sexual Revolution held June 24-25. The theme for this year’s conference was “Fighting for Your Family: Arming You for Success.”
awards dinner and Survivors' Summit on June 24. From left,
are, Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, founder of the Ruth Institute;
Erin Brewer, Activist of the Year; Walt Heyer, Witness of the Year;
Maria Keffler, Activist of the Year; and Dr. Scott Yenor,
Scholar of the Year. Also honored was Kristan Hawkins,
Pro-Life Leadership Award.
This year’s recipient of the Pro-Life Leadership Award was Kristan Hawkins for her outstanding contributions to the pro-life cause. President of Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action, she was hired in 2006 to launch Students for Life of America’s full-time operation. Since then, Hawkins has built a small organization made up of a few dozen student groups scattered around the country into a coordinated team that serves 1,200+ Students for Life chapters in all 50 states and has trained more than 1000,000 young people.
Award presented by The Ruth Institute on June 24. Hawkins
was unable to attend in person but was able to deliver her
keynote speech via Zoom about “What to Expect in a
Post-Roe World” following the historic Supreme Court
decision earlier in the day to overturn the 1973 landmark
ruling of Roe v. Wade.
In a historic decision earlier in the day, the U.S. Supreme Court officially reversed Roe v. Wade on Friday, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly 50 years, no longer exists. As keynote speaker for the evening, Hawkins talked about what people can expect in a post-Roe world.
Hawkins hosts a weekly podcast, “Explicitly Pro-Life,” found on iTunes or YouTube. Under her leadership, Students for Life exists to abolish abortion by transforming the culture through recruiting, training, and mobilizing this pro-life generation, who are the direct targets of today’s abortion industry.
Receiving the Witness of the Year Award was Walt Heyer, who shared his story of living as a transgender woman for eight years before being restored to his male gender. Through his website, sexchangeregret.com, Heyer offers hope to others who want to leave the transgender life. His autobiography, A Transgender’s Faith, has been the subject of numerous documentaries.
This year’s Scholar of the Year Award recipient was Dr. Scott Yenor for his outstanding research in political philosophy. Dr. Yenor is a Professor of Political Science at Boise State University, where he teaches political philosophy. His most recent work is “The Recovery of Family Life: Exposing the Limits of Modern Ideologies.”
The Activist of the Year Award was shared by Erin Brewer, Ph.D.; and Maria Keffler, co-founders of Advocates Protecting Children, which raises awareness of the unethical treatment of children under the duplicitous banner of gender affirmation. Brewer and Keffler have produced two video series, Commonsense Care for Parents and Teacher Talks for Educators.
The Ruth Institute is an interfaith coalition to defend the family and build a Civilization of Love. Found in 2008 by Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, the Ruth Institute equips people to understand, appreciate and defend traditional sexual ethics by providing scientifically sound evidence, carefully reasoned arguments, and compelling personal testimonies. For more information, visit www.ruthinstitute.org. You can also listen to The Ruth Institute Podcast at www.ruthinstitute.org/podcasts.
