The University of Notre Dame de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture will present the 2019 Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal to the Women’s Care Center Foundation at a Mass and banquet on April 27. The medal presentation was live-streamed on the Center's YouTube channel. The Evangelium Vitae Mass celebrated by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades can be viewed at youtube.com/watch?v=lWg8YJuv7kA, and the medal presentation at youtube.com/watch?v=3jbNSkEwRr4.

The Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal, named for St. John Paul II's 1995 encyclical on life issues, is the nation’s most important lifetime achievement award for heroes of the pro-life movement, honoring individuals whose efforts have served to proclaim the Gospel of human life by steadfastly affirming and defending its sanctity from its earliest stages.

The Women’s Care Center was established in 1984 by Dr. Janet E. Smith, then a young professor in Notre Dame's Program of Liberal Studies. Since then, it has grown to 28 pregnancy resource center locations in 11 states and serves more than 28,000 women annually, making it the largest network of pregnancy resource centers in the United States. The Women’s Care Center provides free, confidential counseling and education to women facing unplanned pregnancies, as well as ongoing support, including parenting classes and referrals for mother and baby wellness care. WCC locations can be found in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Announced annually on Respect Life Sunday, the first Sunday of October, the Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae award consists of a specially commissioned medal and $10,000 prize.