MELISSA OHDEN:

Melissa is the survivor of a failed saline infusion abortion in 1977. Despite the initial concerns regarding Melissa’s future after surviving the attempt to end her life at approximately seven months gestation, she has not only survived but thrived.

Melissa is a Master’s level prepared Social Worker and the author of You Carried Me: A Daughter’s Memoir. She is the Founder and Director of The Abortion Survivors Network. Melissa is a frequent contributor to pro-life news outlets and a regular guest on radio and television programs around the world.

Melissa and her husband, Ryan, live in Kansas City, Missouri, with their two daughters, Ava and Olivia.

Fulfilling the purpose that she believes God set out for her when He saved her from the certain death of the abortion attempt, Melissa is truly a voice for the voiceless.

OBIANUJU EKEOCHA

Obianuju (Uju for short) Ekeocha is an internationally acclaimed pro-life speaker and strategist. She has spoken in 50 cities in 18 countries

She is the founder and president of Culture of Life Africa, an initiative dedicated to the promotion and defense of the African values of the sanctity of life,beauty of marriage, blessings of motherhood and the dignity of family life. Culture of Life Africa answers the assaults on these values with African women’s voices.

Culture of Life Africa has proposed,organized and facilitated many major pro-life conferences and March for Life rallies in Africa.

Uju has advised many African Members of Parliament, African United Nations delegates , Ambassadors and other decision makers on pro-life and pro-family issues. She has also worked closely with many African Religious Leaders to promote pro-life values in different countries. She has co-authored pro-life declarations with various African catholic  bishops conferences promoting the message of life in Africa.

Uju’s writings and blog posts have been published on many online outlets, including the Vatican’s Pontifical Council of the Laity web site, Catholic Online, Catholic Exchange, Catholic Stand and Life Site News, as well as print outlets such as Catholic Herald (a prominent Catholic newspaper of the U.K.). Uju has been welcomed as a speaker at pro-life events in 40 cities and 15 different countries around the world and on numerous broadcast networks, including BBC television and radio, EWTN television and radio, Ave Maria Radio, and Relevant Radio.

Consistent with her love for the wonder of life, Uju is also a specialist biomedical scientist in Haematology, working at a Hospital in the United Kingdom. Prior to her current position, she was a Medical Laboratory Scientist at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital. She holds a Masters degree in biomedical science from the University of East London and a Bachelors degree in microbiology from the University of Nigeria. Uju was born in southeast Nigeria, the youngest of six children, and has resided in the U.K. since 2006.

JENNIFER AND JEFF CHRISTIE

Jennifer was brutally raped and left for dead by a serial killer but survived and later found out she’d conceived as a result of the rape. The support and love she received from her amazing husband Jeff helped her to keep her son. Jennifer still suffers as a result of the terrible attack but this doesn’t prevent her from spreading the pro-life message. They will share their story together – giving both the perspectives of wife and husband.

PASTOR DARNELL AND KAREN STARKS

Darnell and Karen Starks have been married for 31 years and are the proud parents of five children and eleven grandchildren. Originally from Illinois, they have spent the past fifteen years in the U.K. Darnell is the pastor of the Crookston Baptist Church in Glasgow, he and Karen are also co-founders of Instruments of Grace Ministries. Darnell and Karen have a personal connection with abortion and pro-life issues and both have a powerful testimony of how God’s grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love have had a profound impact on their lives.

TIM DIEPPE

Tim Dieppe is Head of Public Policy at Christian Concern which he joined in 2016. Prior to joining Christian Concern, Tim had a successful career in fund management for over twenty years. Tim designed and launched the pioneering multi-thematic investment process for the Henderson Industries of the Future Fund which he managed for seven years. This fund and the SRI Team at Henderson received multiple awards over the period, and Tim was named one of Britain’s top 100 fund managers by Citywire.

DR RONAN CLEARY

Dr Ronan Cleary was born in London to Irish Parents. He qualified as a Solicitor in 2004 and for 5yrs was a Solicitor with the DPP in Dublin. He then decided on a career change and attended the Graduate Entry Medical School in Limerick, qualifying as doctor in 2014. He will complete specialist training in July 2019. He is a member of Doctors For Life Ireland and was active in the Referendum last year opposing repeal of the 8th Amendment. He is a passionate advocate for the right to Life of all of us, at all stages of life, both before birth and in our older age.

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