By Alison Corcoran

New Orleans, LA – Miss Safieyatu “Safie” Lamin, of Scituate, won first place in the National Right to Life Jane B. Thompson Oratory Contest held recently in New Orleans.

A senior at Masters Regional Academy in Smithfield, Miss Lamin earned the privilege of representing Rhode Island in the prestigious national contest by winning the Rhode Island Right to Life Dr. Mildred Jefferson Oratory Contest this past May in Providence.

The national pro-life oratory contest was held as part of the 45th Annual National Right to Life Convention, attended by many hundreds of right-to-life activists from around the country.

Notable speakers at this year’s convention included Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, and Dr. Ben Carson of Maryland.

Other notable convention speakers included New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond, veteran political pundit Mary Matalin, author and television personality Rachel Campos Duffy, Weekly Standard Senior Writer John McCormack, and Alan & Kay Robertson and Miss Kay Robertson from A&E Network’s hit series, Ducky Dynasty.

First held in St. Paul, Minn. in 1971, the annual National Right to Life Convention brings together grassroots leaders of the right-to-life movement to exchange ideas, share information, learn from leading national experts, and join together in the common goal of restoring legal protection for all innocent human life.

In addition to the $500 scholarship and trip to New Orleans she won in May from Rhode Island Right to Life, Miss Lamin won an additional $1,000 scholarship in the national contest and brings the 2015 first place trophy back home with her to Rhode Island.

“We are delighted,” said Rhode Island Right to Life executive director Barth E. Bracy, reacting from New Orleans, “that Little Rhody was so well represented here in the Big Easy. We knew in May that Miss Lamin was a dynamite speaker with a compelling message. I only wish I had placed a few wagers with the directors from the other states.”

About Rhode Island Right to Life:  Rhode Island Right to Life was founded in 1970 with the mission to advocate for a state, nation and world in which the innocent lives of the unborn, the disabled, the elderly and the ill are valued by the citizenry and protected by civil law. RI Right to Life lobbies for legislation that advances the cause of the sanctity of human life at both the state and federal levels. RI Right to Life is the state affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee.