The Archbishop Carroll Respect Life Club joined thousands of pro-lifers on Sunday, November 21st, at the Sheraton in Downtown Philadelphia for the Pro Life Union’s 2021 Annual Stand Up For Life Dinner, hosted by the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia.

Archbishop Carroll brought about 10 members of its pro-life club who sat with Mr. Barry Kirsch, a longtime Carroll math teacher, and his wife. The featured speaker, Patricia Sandoval, is an international pro life and chastity speaker. Multiple people spoke throughout the night, but Sandoval brought an especially riveting message to the crowd, and a pin could be heard dropping in the huge room as the audience listened intently. She explained her incredible story, recalling her three abortions and her time working at Planned Parenthood, then her conversion to Christianity, and her life now as a public speaker as well as a wife and a mother.

“The stories the speakers were telling really moved me and made me look at a lot of things differently,” said sophomore Sarah Wood. “I enjoyed being there and experiencing it for the first time.” 

Sophomore Stephen Finley, a regular attendee of the annual event, said he, too, appreciated what he heard.

“I go to the pro-life dinner each year with my family and it is a tradition I enjoy, and I am happy to now share with classmates,” Finley said. “I thought the speaker was very powerful and I was particularly interested in the fact that she herself had multiple abortions and worked at an abortion clinic before becoming such a large pro-life advocate.”