10/03/2006

More than 1,000 turn out for Right to Life dinner

By HEATHER JOHNSON DUROCHER

Special to the Record-Eagle

Record-Eagle/Tyler Sipe
Alan Keyes, a former U.N. ambassador and two-time presidential candidate, delivers Monday’s keynote speech at the Right to Life dinner in Traverse City.

TRAVERSE CITY — The invitation came at the last minute, but Lisa Cran jumped at the chance to attend this year's Grand Traverse Area Right to Life benefit dinner.

The issue of abortion will always hit close to home for the Traverse City woman. Now 48, Cran was pregnant at 18 and believed abortion was her only choice.

"I didn't have a drop of pro-life in my blood," she said.

Today, the mother of two grown children still hurts because of her choice, and in the years since grew committed to ensuring others don't have to go through what she did.

"I've been a longtime pro-life supporter," said Cran, who sat next to her husband Bill and her friend Ruth Francis during Monday night's Focus on Life held at the Grand Traverse Resort.

They were among more than 1,000 people who attended the 19th annual dinner that attracted students, their families, and local, state and federal lawmakers and community leaders.

This year's keynote speaker was former U.N. Ambassador and two-time presidential candidate Alan Keyes, who event organizers said is committed to "raising the standard of unalienable rights in defense of the unborn."

Keyes, who served on the National Security Council and as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council during the Reagan administration, discussed what he contended is a moral crisis in America.

"You all, we're in trouble," said Keyes. "Somebody in politics has forgotten that we're a constitutional republic. The evil that we fight is the shadow of the evil that we do."

He praised the efforts of right-to-life groups in Michigan, calling volunteers "something special."

"Every time I come to speak to the pro-life people of Michigan, it's like coming to the river of life," he said. "The work that is done all through Michigan is work that has saved the lives of young babies. One by one, life by life, heart by heart, we've pulled some back from the river of destruction."

The event attracted numerous students from Grand Traverse Area Students for Life.

"My hope in tonight is that our generation stands up for life and we are making it clear we are here to do exactly that because we understand there's a lot of opposition to this particular issue," said group coordinator Marie Hahnenberg, 25.

Organizers hoped to raise about $200,000. Proceeds benefit the Right to Life of Michigan Education Fund.