This week, we mourn the loss of a pro-life champion and humble leader, Dr. Jack Willke. Those of us who knew Dr. Willke were inspired by his single-minded pursuit of cultural and legal changes to protect women and unborn children from the horrors of abortion. He believed that every life was worth saving and inspired everyone around him to join him in that effort – a true labor of love.
At Americans United for Life, we honor Dr. Willke today, knowing he deserves the gratefulness of so many people who live because he cared. The Talmud tells us: “He who saves a single life saves the world entire…”
And indeed Dr. Willke saved so many lives. His resumé is well known: founding member and long-time president of the International Right to Life Federation, a former president of the National Right to Life Committee, and the founder and president of the Life Issues Institute. He is credited with the pro-life conversion of President George H. W. Bush. And his book, Abortion: Questions and Answers has been translated into 32 languages and distributed around the world to train up the next, pro-life generation. He also became a link to the international pro-life community, recognizing that discarding unborn children was not an American issue, but an issue for humanity.
We pray for Dr. Willke’s friends and family, even as we honor him for the good and faithful servant that he was. In his name, we pick up the torch he lit to carry on in this good work.
