About the Author

Susan Ciancio has a BA in psychology and a BA in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, with an MA in liberal studies from Indiana University. Since 2003, she has worked as a professional editor and writer, editing both fiction and nonfiction books, magazine articles, blogs, educational lessons, professional materials, and website content. Fourteen of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently Susan writes weekly for HLI, edits for American Life League, and is the editor of its Celebrate Life Magazine. She also serves as executive editor for the Culture of Life Studies Program, an educational nonprofit program for k-12 students.

Her Story: Norma McCorvey of Roe v. Wade

By Susan Ciancio / August 28, 2020 /
Norma McCorvey of Roe v Wade

Norma McCorvey. A name that often evokes sadness. A name that grew to also signify courage. Now a name riddled in controversy since the release of a documentary entitled AKA Jane Roe this past spring. Over the last 47 years, the woman who would become Jane Roe in the infamous Roe v. Wade Supreme Court…

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‘Petition on Hormonal Contraceptives’: The Real Effects of Hormonal Birth Control

By Susan Ciancio / April 21, 2020 /
shocked woman reads side effects of contraceptive pills

Breast cancer. Cervical cancer. Depression. Mood disorders. Suicide. Multiple sclerosis. Ulcerative colitis. Venous thromboembolism. Inflammatory bowel disease. Systemic lupus erythematosus. Cystitis. Crohn’s disease. Urogenital effects. Cardiovascular events. Increased chance of HIV transmission. Your doctor rattled off those words like he was calling roll in a classroom. But each one made you cringe a little more…

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Living God’s Unselfish Love

By Susan Ciancio / February 20, 2020 /

Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but since many of us are still enjoying the candy, the beautiful flowers, and the other fun gifts bestowed upon us by our significant others, it seems only fitting to examine what love truly is. The Ancient Greeks had several words for the different kinds of love we experience…

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Suffering Helps Build a Culture of Life

By Susan Ciancio / January 22, 2020 /

Today we remember the 47th anniversary of Roe v. Wade—the Supreme Court case that decriminalized abortion in the United States. It’s a somber day, yet when we see the thousands upon thousands of people marching in the March for Life Friday, we have reason to hope. We have hope for the enlightenment of darkened hearts.…

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Facing Life’s Challenges as a Single Catholic Mother

By Susan Ciancio / January 8, 2020 /

I’ve thought of the famous “Footprints in the Sand” poem often over the last several years. Just the idea that God would say to me, “My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of suffering, when you could see only one set of footprints, it was then that I…

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Trusting God through Infertility

By Susan Ciancio / December 11, 2019 /

What are good and faithful Catholics supposed to do when they encounter the anguish or despair in life that comes from an inability to do something they desperately want and that seems so natural—like having children? How should we apply our ability to trust to a situation like this? Proverbs 3:5 tells us: “Trust in…

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Why Say a Pro-Life Rosary?

By Susan Ciancio / October 30, 2019 /
The Battle of Lepanto, by Paolo Veronese

In 1937, Pope Pius XI wrote that the Rosary is “a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight, to preserve the integrity of life, to acquire virtue more easily, and . . . to attain real peace among men.” October is not only the month of the Rosary, but it’s Respect Life Month as…

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The Difference One Racist Made: Margaret Sanger’s World

By Susan Ciancio / October 20, 2019 /

“On the other hand, the mass of ignorant Negroes still breed carelessly and disastrously, so that the increase among Negroes, even more than the increase among whites, is from that part of the population least intelligent and fit, and least able to rear their children properly. ~From Sanger’s Birth Control Review W.E.B. DuBois, Professor of…

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Has Feminism Unseated Chivalry?

By Susan Ciancio / September 23, 2019 /
lady and knight

“When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the…

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Is Monogamy Unnatural? What’s Its Origin?

By Susan Ciancio / July 30, 2019 /

Monogamy, the practice of having one sexual partner at a time, is a concept that has sparked the interest of countless anthropologists and has been the subject of decades of research. You may have even heard people state that monogamy is “unnatural.” If this is true, why do you imagine monogamy has been favored for…

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