John Smeaton, chief executive of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has been given an award in honour of his services to the pro-life cause. SPUC is the world's first pro-life lobbying and educational organisation, established in 1967.
Mr Smeaton was given the inaugural Father Paul Marx Pro-Life Award by Human Life International (HLI), the world's largest pro-life organisation, at a banquet concluding HLI’s 7th Prayer Congress for Life in Fatima, Portugal.
Mr Smeaton became involved with SPUC after graduating from Oxford University and began to work full-time for SPUC in 1978, being appointed General Secretary. He has been SPUC's Chief Executive since 1996. He has also been vice-president of the International Right to Life Federation since 2005.
In his acceptance speech, Mr Smeaton said: "It’s an extraordinary privilege for me to receive the Father Paul Marx Pro-Life Award from Human Life International, the group he founded. I met Fr Paul Marx 40 years ago when I first started working as a volunteer at national level for SPUC."
He dedicated his acceptance speech to Josephine, his wife of 31 years.
Following the award-ceremony, Mr Smeaton said: "I accepted this award primarily in honour of SPUC, its staff, volunteers and supporters."
For more information, please contact Anthony Ozimic, SPUC's Media Manager: