Lake County Gazette

Mary Hallan-FioRito is encouraged by the changing views of many Americans.

“The opinion and attitudes of Americans have shifted dramatically when it comes to the issue of abortion,” FioRito told the Lake County Gazette. “We have a great opportunity to change the tone and tenor of this country.”

FioRito is the Cardinal Francis George Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and will be the keynote speaker at the Lake County Right to Life Benefit Banquet on July 27.

Mary Hallan-FioRito

Billed as a presentation that “will tackle controversy and current events as she examines the social and political environment of abortion, in light of recent Supreme Court decisions and the Catholic Church’s teachings regarding the dignity of human life,” FioRito said the time for change is now.

“A slight majority of people now take the pro-life label over pro-choice,” she said. “And you can’t deny, as more people understand the facts they’re less likely to be in favor of unrestricted abortions.”

FioRito said she plans to deliver a message of hope and encouragement.

“We need to be more compassionate and make people more aware of what Roe v. Wade truly allows,” she said. “It’s going to be an evening where people who share a love for science, love for truth and sympathy and empathy for women in the position of being single and pregnant come together.”

FioRito is also an attorney and will discuss what Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s recent nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, could mean for abortion rights.

“I don’t find Judge Kavanaugh to be a social warrior or anything like that,” FioRito said. “Instead, he’s a very strict constitutionalist and I don’t think any of us believe we should be making up the constitution as we go along.”

The Lake County Right to Life organization was formed in 1973 after the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade. The group works to educate and persuade the community of “the inalienable and inherent right to life of all human beings, from conception to natural death,” according to the group’s website.

FioRito’s “Religious Liberty: How It Weaves Through Our Lifetime” address starts at 6 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 510 Illinois 83 in Mundelein.