Mary FioRito

Cardinal Francis George Fellow

EPPC Cardinal Francis George Fellow Mary Hallan FioRito is an attorney, public speaker, and radio show and podcast host. Her areas of expertise are human life issues, primarily abortion law and policy, post-abortion aftermath, and the Consistent Ethic of Life. She holds a degree in English Literature from Loyola University Chicago and a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois.

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EPPC Cardinal Francis George Fellow Mary Hallan FioRito is an attorney, public speaker, and radio show and podcast host. Her areas of expertise are human life issues, primarily abortion law and policy, post-abortion aftermath, and the Consistent Ethic of Life.  She holds a degree in English Literature from Loyola University Chicago and a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois.

In 1993, she was selected by the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin to serve as Director of Pro-life Activities for the Archdiocese of Chicago, where she served for seven years. Ms. FioRito was responsible for all programs related to abortion, post-abortion counseling, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

Ms. FioRito was named the Archdiocese of Chicago’s first female Vice-Chancellor in 2000, the same year she was honored by Newsweek Magazine as one of their “Women of the New Century,” highlighting her contribution to the nation’s conversation about abortion law and policy. In 2003, she was promoted to the position of Executive Assistant to the late Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., a role she held until the time of the Cardinal’s death in April 2015. She joined the EPPC shortly thereafter.

Ms. FioRito’s professional experiences give her a wealth of knowledge and insight into issues affecting the Catholic faith and its impact on women and the family. She regularly lectures and participates in a variety of academic and professional conferences. Speaking appearances include Legatus chapters, pregnancy resource center dinners, bar associations, and women’s conferences.

For more than two decades, Ms. FioRito has been a sought-after presenter and debater on the college and university speaking circuit. Venues include Princeton University, the University of Tennessee, the University of Arkansas, Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame, Northwestern University School of Law, and Colby College. She is known for her cordial, civil and persuasive advocacy of the pro-life position.

In addition to her expertise on the abortion issues, Ms. FioRito’s essays and opinions on topics ranging from perinatal hospice to the role of women in the Catholic Church have been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, Newsweek, National Review, and many religious publications. She is the contributor to two books: Breaking Through: Catholic Women Speak for Themselves, edited by Helen M. Alvare, and Promise and Challenge: Catholic Women Reflect on Complementarity, Feminism, and the Church, a selection of essays by Catholic women scholars edited by Mary Rice Hasson.

Ms. FioRito’s television and radio appearances include all major Chicago area news outlets, NPR, EWTN, and other local and national religious media. She is regular contributor to Relevant Radio’s Morning Air program, and the host of a weekly Chicago-area radio show, Winds of Change, which airs on EWTN’s local AM and FM stations. She also hosts the EDIFY podcast, a project of CatholicVote.

Ms. FioRito is also the concurrent Cardinal George Fellow at the deNicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame, where she advises the Women and Children First initiative.

She serves on the Board of Directors of and is a consultor to numerous arch/dioceses, and pro-life and charitable organizations, including Aid for Women, a pregnancy resource center and maternity home, and Life House, a maternity home and women’s shelter serving the Black community on Chicago’s South Side. She has received numerous awards and honors for her work on behalf of the Catholic Church and the pro-life movement, including the Woman of the Year Award from St. Joseph College Seminary and the Catholic Press Association’s 2022 Henry Hyde Award.

She and her husband are the parents of three daughters and live in the Chicago area.

 

 

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Don’t believe the headlines: a Nebraska teen didn’t go to jail for having an abortion

Mary FioRito

In the year following Dobbs, accurate reporting on any story even remotely tangential to abortion is not to be expected, to the detriment of the people in whose hands state abortion law now rests.

America Magazine / August 18, 2023

In ‘303 Creative,’ court rules that companies cannot be forced to violate their religious beliefs

Mary FioRito

The case made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court in a case called Masterpiece Cake Shop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The court ruled in a 7-2 decision in favor of Phillips, but on very narrow grounds

Articles

Our Sunday Visitor / July 3, 2023

For a Life-Affirming Consensus: An Open Letter

EPPC

Abortion is not healthcare, and it is not a solution to social and economic difficulties.

PDF / May 4, 2023

After Decades of Nationwide Legal Abortion, the Wrongs of Roe v. Wade have been Corrected

Mary FioRito

Roe had been the subject of almost constant criticism from constitutional law scholars, many of whom were pro-choice, since the day it was handed down in 1973.

Articles

Our Sunday Visitor / June 28, 2022

Remembering Vicki Thorn and the Legacy She Left

Mary FioRito

There were very few souls as humble as Vicki, despite her many accolades and accomplishments and international fame for her work.

Articles

Our Sunday Visitor / April 27, 2022

How Christmas Unites All Americans

Mary FioRito

America proudly affirms that you don’t have to be Christian or practice any particular faith to be an American, but it acknowledges that without God, our claims about freedom, and our rights, mean nothing.

Articles

The Washington Examiner / December 25, 2021

Gov Pritzker’s Christmas Gift to Illinois Parents: The State, Not Parents, Decides What You Get…

Mary FioRito

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed a bill repealing the Illinois Parental Notification of Abortion Act, a commonsense law requiring abortion providers to notify parents or guardian that an abortion would be performed on minor girls.

Articles

JohnKassNews.com / December 21, 2021

Texas Program Offers Real Alternatives to Abortion

Mary FioRito

Pro-life centers and charities that serve pregnant women will need to prepare themselves, yet not be deterred from their work. Lives—and the truth—are at stake.

Articles

Newsweek / September 20, 2021

Pro-Lifers Cheer New Texas Law, While Abortion Advocates Show Their True Colors

Mary FioRito

Given abortion’s long association with eugenics, it wasn’t necessarily surprising that some opposing the new Texas law voiced appalling statements about people living with a variety of disabilities.

Articles

Our Sunday Visitor / September 7, 2021

Xavier Becerra Is a Poor Choice for HHS Secretary

Mary FioRito

For many active Christians and Catholics, and others of goodwill who respect the free exercise of religion and religious beliefs, Xavier Becerra’s nomination indicates that Joe Biden’s aspiration to unify a divided country was simply empty rhetoric.

Articles

Chicago Tribune / March 6, 2021

Repealing Abortion Notification Law Would Be Tragic Mistake

Mary FioRito

Eliminating the Illinois Parental Notification of Abortion Act would strip away critical protections for young girls and enable predatory men.

Articles

Chicago Sun-Times / February 10, 2021

President Biden’s Mexico City Policy Repeal Contradicts His Own Recent Statements

Mary FioRito

As a direct result of President Biden’s decision, massive amounts of federal funding once again will flow indiscriminately to foreign-aid groups such as Planned Parenthood International and similar organizations whose chief aim is to profit from an increased number of abortions around the globe, including in countries that reject abortion in law.

Articles

National Catholic Register / January 30, 2021