Eileen Roberts has accepted the post of executive director for Virginia Society for Human Life effective June 9. Mrs. Roberts has worked since 1987 helping women in crisis pregnancy situations and in advancing pro-life legislation to protect mothers and their children. Most recently she was executive director of the Rappahannock Pregnancy Help Center in Fredericksburg. In announcing the results of the executive director search, President Brenda Fastabend expressed how very fortunate VSHL is to have been able to hire an applicant with the talents and rich experience in the right to life movement as Mrs. Roberts.

Eileen Roberts became involved in the movement following her14 year old daughter’s secret out-of-town abortion. The young girl suffered physical damage from the abortion requiring surgery for which a parent’s written consent was required. Medical bills to cover the physical and emotional consequences to the teen amounted to $27,000, a responsibility of the parents. In 1988, Eileen Roberts formed Mothers Against Minors’ Abortions (MAMA). Through this collective voice of parents, she has educated the public and state legislators of the need for public policy that protects minors and the rights of parents to be involved if an abortion is being sought.

In addition to testifying numerous times at the Virginia General Assembly, including the 2003 session in support of Virginia’s new parental consent law, she has testified in Delaware, Wisconsin, Nevada, Rhode Island, and consulted in a number of other states. On January 22 of this year, Mrs. Roberts was a witness in a trial on the constitutionality of Alaska’s parental consent law passed six years ago (Planned Parenthood vs. The State of Alaska). In September 2001, she shared her personal story before Congress in support of the “Child Custody Protection Act.” The proposal would make it a federal offense to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion in order to circumvent a state law requiring parental involvement or consent laws. Mrs. Roberts is expected to testify later this year when Congress again addresses the legislation. President Bush has promised to sign the legislation into law.

In accepting the VSHL position, the new executive director stated that she is honored to work for the largest grassroots right to life organization in Virginia and is grateful for the opportunities to work to protect women and their unborn children and to lessen other challenges to the right to life for the disabled and medically vulnerable.

Published in VSHL Lifesaver, June 2003