2004 PRO-LIFE ESSAY CONTEST
WINNING ESSAY - HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
Jennifer Simmons
Pro-Life Essay Contest
Justification, a statement in
explanation of some action or belief, is just about all we care about these
days. In society’s eyes it doesn’t really matter whether were right or
wrong-just as long as we can come up with some sort of excuse for our behavior.
But is everything justifiable? Is there a point where reasoning goes out the
window? What about things like murder? In the fifth commandment, God tells us
that we must not kill, but seeing as society today deems the Ten Commandments
illegitimate as rules for living by, what is the real truth? It all comes down
to truth and whether we are willing, as human beings, to believe it, or just
hide behind a pretext.
Excuses and justifications are the only things that
seem to give these women temporary comfort. They are something we lean on so
that people won’t criticize or hurt us – just as long as there is no pain in
our lives, we seem to be all right. But is momentary comfort enough reason to
kill an innocent child? Strange how easily we can make up anything to support
what we feel is best – even though it may not be right. In our society, lies
have become so frequent that it is hard to tell the difference from the truth.
As for the justifications themselves, they are nearly as creative as the humans
that invent them – and practically just as fatal.
For most women, the deceit of society has infected
them, leaving them thinking that an unborn child – a baby, is only a tissue,
disposable at will. So, according to them, abortion is not killing, it’s just
freeing them of unnecessary tissue. They rarely take into consideration of the
fact an unborn child’s heart begins to beat after only eighteen days of life
– only that they don’t want “it”.
Unfortunately, there are also some situations where
materialism is involved. Often the case in such instances as abortion, there is
a worldly reasoning behind it. Raising a child costs time and money – things
that many people can’t afford to lose. But
then what? Off to the clinic? No, there are other options for an unborn baby and
its mother, such as adoption. Some people believe that this is another cruel way
of getting rid of kids, but that is not true. In fact, it’s just the opposite
– by giving up a child for adoption, you are providing the kid with a chance
for life. Adoption may never be the same as growing up with their birth mother,
but by giving up a child for adoption, you are looking out for someone else’s
well-being, and not just your own. Isn’t that the same type of selfless love
Jesus showed us when he died for us on the cross? If only we could live exactly
to his example, then the world would be such a better place.
Another all too common justification for abortion is the “unexpected” part of pregnancy. Women have jobs, friends, lives – most can’t be bothered with this sudden “thing” that sprung up on them. It was never supposed to happen. But isn’t human life important enough to rearrange a schedule for? Granted, no one likes change, but is momentary discomfort enough cause for murder? In my eyes – never. So why do we allow such things to happen? Are we that heartless?
If the murder of innocent children is legal by our own government, what’s next? Handicapped? Elderly? In society today, it doesn’t matter whether something is right or wrong, just as long as you can convince yourself whichever way. However, as human beings and children of god, we are called not to judge, but to open the eyes of those whose ignorance and sin blinds them. Perhaps by helping people understand the evils of killing an unborn child, we can save the souls of both mother and child. Because no matter our reasoning, sin is still sin. And though as humans, we are doomed to continue doing such, maybe by spreading the word of Jesus’ eternal life, we can save others” lives.
2004 PRO LIFE ESSAY CONTEST
WINNING ESSAY – JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
At a time when the earth was
young and not many generations had populated it, the people needed guidance in
moral issues of right and wrong. In answer, God have His people the Ten
Commandments, ten laws by which to live by. God’s fifth commandment is “Thou
Shall Not Kill”. Throughout history, the violation of this commandment has
been considered the most serious offense a person can commit. That remained true
until 1973, when the United States Supreme Court made the killing of an unborn
child by abortion legal.
Abortion is an immoral act because
it destroys the life of helpless, innocent children. Abortion advocates attempt
to dehumanize unborn children by referring to them only as fetuses. They
advocate that a baby is not human until it is viable, or can live outside the
womb. The Catholic Church teaches that life begins at conception. When the
Supreme Court legalized abortion, a baby could live outside the womb at 24
weeks. With advances in medical technology, babies born at 20 weeks have
survived. Despite medical advances, our society is now saving 21 week old
“preemies” while aborting 28 week old babies.
Science has shown that at 4 weeks
after conception, the unborn baby has developed three distinct layers of cells,
the ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm. These will later turn into organs and
tissue and become the major systems in the baby’s body. At 8 weeks the
baby’s face has formed and the ears are beginning to develop. At 13 weeks,
already formed organs and tissues mature and grow. At 16 weeks the baby’s arms
and legs can move, and his fingernails are formed. At 18 weeks the sex of a
child can be determined by ultrasound. At this time the baby moves, stretches
and turns inside the mother. At 19 weeks the baby is aware of it’s movements
and directs them intentionally. Studies done in the United States have shown
that an unborn baby has protective responses to pain at 8 weeks and that aborted
children have been heard to cry at 21 weeks.
Each year approximately 1,300,000
abortions are performed in the
When a society loses its belief
that life is sacred, and that only God can decide when to give or take life, it
weakens it’s moral fiber. As our society has become more advanced, it has lost
sight of what is right and what is wrong. It allows the massive killing of the
unborn for social convenience, at the cost of moral conscience. I feel that all
immoral acts weaken the spirit and make it difficult to find unity with God. A
woman making the choice to terminate her pregnancy cannot change her mind once
the abortion has occurred, and must forever live with her decision. We must pray
for all women to have the strength to make the right decision to follow God’s
laws for life, and His plan for every one of us.
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out the womb, I sanctified thee.”
Jeremiah 1:5
Christina Cochran
Grade 8