'Law of Life Summit' Focuses on Toppling Roe v. Wade 'Regime'

By Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post Reporter Monday, January 16, 2012

The Ave Maria School of Law (AMSL) will hold its first ever "Law of Life Summit" Jan. 21, 2012, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C, with the goal of finding new ways to battle pro-abortion laws.

A host of prominent pro-life leaders from various organizations will discuss strategies for battling the controversial Roe v. Wade decisions, which allows mothers to end their pregnancy based on the 14th Amendment. The "Law of Life Summit" was scheduled only a few days before the 39th March for Life campaign, which will be held Jan. 23, 2012.

The annual March attracts thousands of anti-abortion protesters to the U.S. Capitol each year on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. The very first March in 1974, a year after the Supreme Court’s decision, drew 20,000 people, and it has been growing ever since, the campaign’s website revealed.

John Knowles, Director of Development & External Affairs at Ave Maria School of Law, a law school which describes itself as "characterized by a commitment to professional excellence, the highest ethical and moral standards and the integration of the Catholic intellectual tradition," spoke with The Christian Post about the mission of the "Law of Life Summit."

"The Summit will bring together some of the nation’s top pro-life leaders. They will come together and set a six-month plan about where energies and tensions should be focused in the cause of overturning the Roe v. Wade regime," Knowles revealed.

He insisted that this summit is unique and different from previous pro-life meetings because it will seek to integrate ideas both from seasoned law professionals and young attorneys in order to generate the most effective plan to fight pro-abortion laws in the country.

"[The Summit] focuses on using the law as a vehicle to overturn Roe v. Wade – especially with so many cases out there right now that have the potential to go before the High Courts," Knowles said. "Another way it is different is that it is bringing together young attorneys and law students with the established leaders that are out there in the profession to work together on an action agenda that is really comprehensive in nature."

The Director of Development & External Affairs added: "It’s not like people who have been involved in this cause for a long time are going to have their meeting and going to decide what they think works. This [summit] will bring together a multigenerational group with a national scope – people from all over the country."

Royce Hood, one of the organizers of the Summit, said in a press release: "Everyone attending the Summit understands why abortion is evil and works hard every day against it. At the Summit we are going to get very specific as to the methods, tactics, and measures that will win these final battles in the fight against abortion."

Knowles noted that there will be a number of prominent pro-life organizations and representatives participating at the event, including:

Dr. Pat Castle from LIFE Group 413; Samuel Lee from Campaign Life Missouri; Kellie Fiedorek from Americans United for Life; Peter Breen from the Thomas More Society; Samuel Casey from The Law of Life Project; O.C. Sneed from the University of Notre Dame; Dana Cody from Life Legal Defense Foundation; Kristan Hawkins from Students for Life; Anne Carmichael from Vitae Foundation; John Henry Westen and many others.

More information about the participating groups is featured on the Summit’s website.