Reno Reporter

Nevada Right to Life recently hosted their 15th Annual Friends for Life Gala, with the event and an auction taking place at the Downtown Reno Ballroom.

The pro-life gala featured silent, live and appeal auctions as well as cocktails and a seated dinner, Nevada Right to Life said on its site.

"It was outstanding. We took two years off due to COVID, so our folks were very happy to get together again," Melissa Clement, executive director of Nevada Right to Life and chairwoman of Protect Our Kids, told the Reno Reporter.

Clement said that over 500 people attended the event and that the leaked Supreme Court opinion lifted the attendees' spirits.

"There's a lot of people who only get to catch up with their life friends once a year, so as you can well imagine that after two years, they were excited to see each other," Clement said. "And also, given the news of the day, I think everybody was just excited."

The National Right to Life Committee is the parent company of Nevada Right to Life and offers guidance on topics dealing with pregnancy such as fetal development, abortion, cloning and stem cell research, Nevada Right to Life said on its about page.

"I think there's a lot of people in the pro-life community that cannot wait for the next election, and that would have been the same regardless," Clement said. "I think the event was much more abuzz than it probably would have been."

Proceeds from the events will go toward the organization's efforts to provide education, Clement said.

Protect Our Kids is promoting the Protect Our Kids Statutory Initiative, which would legally oblige a doctor to inform a parent of a minor that they are seeking an abortion, the organization said on its site. Nevada currently allows minors to have the medical procedure without a parent being informed.

"We are working … to enact a functional parental notification for underage girls seeking abortion law because in the state of Nevada, an underage girl — even if she's just 10 or 11 years old — can get an abortion without a single parent knowing," Clement said.

Those interested in donating to the cause visit the gala's website.