1999 Sweeney

1999 Recipients - Dr. Thomas & Jean Sweeney

In the 1960s, long before Roe v Wade, which was 1/22/1973, there was recognition of the high probability of a successful push for legalization of abortion being readied. There were barely any sources of information about it. Monsignor McHugh, now Bishop McHugh in New Jersey, informally convened people with an interest in the topic. These meetings were informal and the group was a precursor to the formation of the National Right to Life Committee. Tom Sweeney attended these meetings. From the information he had from that and a few other sources, he wrote a series for the Catholic Courier, the name of the Catholic publication in Rochester at that time. Dr. Sweeney was an extensive writer and speaker during the 1960s. Jean carried on with the speaking engagements during the 1970s. Both were board members of the Rocheter Area Right to Life Committee.

September 14,1999: The third LHHL Award was presented to Dr. Thomas and Mrs Jeanne Sweeney at a banquet at the Rochester Marriott Thruway Motel on September 14'' with sponsor and co-sponsors identical to those of the 1998 event. The Sweeneys were recognized as pioneers of the pro-life movement. Dr. Sweeney had been aware of the growing acceptance of making abortion legal and, with Jeanne, an RN; they rallied like minded people and established the Rochester Area Right to Life Committee, Inc. in 1979. They established the committee to do education on the issue and did countless numbers of public presentations in person and with media representatives. In addition to RARTL, they were core members of the early Birthright organization in Rochester and have been continuous in responding to requests for their help in the pro-life arena. Although well known in the Rochester community, the goal of this award event was the public recognition and appreciation of their work. 250 were in attendance.

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