The Evangelium Vitae Medal represents tremendous achievement within the sphere of the pro- life movement. On April 25, the Notre Dame Fund to Protect Human Life honored Helen M. Alvaré, associate professor of law at George Mason University, as the 2012 Evangelium Vitae Medal Winner.
The event commenced with Mass celebrated by Bishop Kevin Rhoades in Sacred Heart Basilica, and the medal was awarded at a banquet following the Mass. The mission of the Notre Dame Fund to Protect Human Life is to promote student education on the dignity of human life, particularly at its beginning stages. The five administrative members of the Fund’s committee include Dr. David Solomon, professor of philosophy; Elizabeth Kirk, research fellow at the Center for Ethics and Culture; Rev. Wilson Miscamble, C.S.C., professor of history; O. Carter Snead, associate professor of law, and Daniel Philpott, associate professor of political science and peace studies.
The committee internally reviews names and outside submissions, consults pro-life leaders worldwide, and makes the final decision about whom the Fund will award the medal. Dr. Solomon, the Fund’s governing chair, has described Professor Alvaré as “a courageous and powerful defender of the cause of life for two decades.”
As is noted on the Fund’s website, Alvaré holds a law degree from Cornell University and received a master’s degree in systematic theology from the Catholic University of America. She practiced law with Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young in Philadelphia, concentrating in commercial litigation and religious liberty. Alvaré taught at Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law prior to her work at George Mason University.
During her work with the Office of General Counsel for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB), Alvaré drafted amicus briefs in prominent U.S. Supreme Court cases concerning abortion, euthanasia, and the First Amendment’s establishment clause. She also worked with the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities at the NCCB, advocating for life before federal congressional committees, lecturing across America, and making appearances on television and radio programs for the U.S. Catholic bishops. Her knowledge and experience with sanctity of life issues regarding women, marriage, and the family has led her to role as an ABC News consultant.
Alvaré has been a generous servant to the Church, serving as both an adviser for Pope Benedict XVI’s Pontifical Council for the Laity and the chair of a commission investigating clerical abuse in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Continuing with her past work, Alvaré’s current scholarship focuses “on current controversies about the effect of abortion on women, marriage, parenting and the new reproductive technologies.”
Considering the recent controversy surrounding the HHS Mandate, the Evangelium Vitae Banquet arrives at a critical moment in the history of Notre Dame and the larger American Church.
Associate Director of the Center for Ethics and Culture, Angela Pfister, commented, “We certainly have always been a hub of information and engagement on these issues. Professor Alvaré has been on the front lines in terms of combating the HHS mandate, which at the time the medal was announced was still only preliminary and had not been finalized. Professor Alvaré’s work has definitely been to protect the rights of conscious, which Evangelium Vitae, the encyclical itself, highlights as a fundamental right. In conjunction with all of her other great contributions, this has been one of her utmost points of service.”
Lyssa Mall is a sophomore English major who is thrilled to have been conscripted, ah, joined The Irish Rover. Contact her at amall@ nd.edu.