Respect Life Essay Contest Winners - 2026
Cecilia Nuxoll
First Place, Junior Division
Grade 8 - Homeschool
Life at Four Weeks
During a pregnancy there are many stages of development for the child. One of the most monumental stages of prenatal development is roughly four days past fertilization. This is when the cells that will become the baby start to act differently than the others. This is still long before the mother would see any signs of pregnancy. And yet, even at such an early stage, the baby is completely original. This time is when the child becomes its own person. They become unique, not only from the other cells, but also from every other living thing on the planet.
At this age, the baby will still look like a simple cluster of cells. But the cells will start subtly differentiating from each other, moving about, and rearranging themselves until they have changed from a dense group to a more organized shape, a hollow sphere filled with fluid. It can be argued that at this stage the baby is still inhuman, a microscopic set of cells that seem to hold no relations to a living being. They are human. The scientific wonders that are these actions of the cells proves that even at only four days past fertilization, the baby is a special being.
Mere hours after this momentous development another great change occurs. There become two layers of cells making up the future baby. This allows for the development of a complex set of cells. The outer layer will become the brain, spinal cord, nervous system, sense organs, and skin. The inner layer will become the stomach and intestines, among other things. Eventually a third layer will form between the two. That will become the muscles, skeleton, and other various internal organs.
In Iowa there is a legal bill that requires students of a certain age to be shown realistic imagery of a human baby at different stages of life, from fertilization to birth. The students are also taught about what happens at each stage. It is extremely important to educate youth on the humanity of the unborn. One of the most unarguable points that reflects this humanity is the intricacies of the maturation that happens before birth. Such as the intense changes only four
days after fertilization, that deny the idea that an unborn child is nonhuman at such an early stage. It is so important to clearly show how special a human being is, even before the mother would know that she is with child. But this law does more than just require kids to be taught about the unborn child, it also rejects the social boundary that it is wrong to talk to a child about abortion. This boundary has prevented many people from being confident enough to address the subject of the unborn with kids. Having a strong legal push that it is okay to share what you believe in with kids of any religion is fundamental to help create a society where abortion is not the norm. The kind of society that Catholics strive for.
References
Tsiaras, Alexander, and Werth, Berry. From Conception to Birth: a Life Unfolds, Doubleday, 2002.
First Place, Junior Division
Grade 8 - Homeschool
Life at Four Weeks
During a pregnancy there are many stages of development for the child. One of the most monumental stages of prenatal development is roughly four days past fertilization. This is when the cells that will become the baby start to act differently than the others. This is still long before the mother would see any signs of pregnancy. And yet, even at such an early stage, the baby is completely original. This time is when the child becomes its own person. They become unique, not only from the other cells, but also from every other living thing on the planet.
At this age, the baby will still look like a simple cluster of cells. But the cells will start subtly differentiating from each other, moving about, and rearranging themselves until they have changed from a dense group to a more organized shape, a hollow sphere filled with fluid. It can be argued that at this stage the baby is still inhuman, a microscopic set of cells that seem to hold no relations to a living being. They are human. The scientific wonders that are these actions of the cells proves that even at only four days past fertilization, the baby is a special being.
Mere hours after this momentous development another great change occurs. There become two layers of cells making up the future baby. This allows for the development of a complex set of cells. The outer layer will become the brain, spinal cord, nervous system, sense organs, and skin. The inner layer will become the stomach and intestines, among other things. Eventually a third layer will form between the two. That will become the muscles, skeleton, and other various internal organs.
In Iowa there is a legal bill that requires students of a certain age to be shown realistic imagery of a human baby at different stages of life, from fertilization to birth. The students are also taught about what happens at each stage. It is extremely important to educate youth on the humanity of the unborn. One of the most unarguable points that reflects this humanity is the intricacies of the maturation that happens before birth. Such as the intense changes only four
days after fertilization, that deny the idea that an unborn child is nonhuman at such an early stage. It is so important to clearly show how special a human being is, even before the mother would know that she is with child. But this law does more than just require kids to be taught about the unborn child, it also rejects the social boundary that it is wrong to talk to a child about abortion. This boundary has prevented many people from being confident enough to address the subject of the unborn with kids. Having a strong legal push that it is okay to share what you believe in with kids of any religion is fundamental to help create a society where abortion is not the norm. The kind of society that Catholics strive for.
References
Tsiaras, Alexander, and Werth, Berry. From Conception to Birth: a Life Unfolds, Doubleday, 2002.
Ashlyn Bentler
Second Place, Junior Division
Grade 8 - Homeschool
One important stage of a baby’s development is around eight weeks after fertilization. At this stage, the baby is about the size of a raspberry or a kidney bean. The baby has a small head and an even smaller body that is still forming and growing.
The tiny heart is already beating and pumping blood, and the baby’s brain is rapidly developing. The arms and legs begin to grow longer, and more details start to appear, such as the beginnings of fingers and toes. Even though the baby is still very small, many important parts of the body are already forming and working together as it continues to grow. Small movements may even begin, even though the mother cannot feel them yet. At this stage, the baby already has a clear and organized structure that is developing step by step.
Understanding this stage is important because it shows how early and detailed human life begins. A baby is not suddenly formed later in pregnancy, but instead grows through a continuous process starting from the very beginning. Learning about prenatal development helps people recognize that even the earliest stages of life involve real growth, structure, and change. It helps build awareness that development is happening long before birth is visible.
The Right to Life law helps bring attention to this by making prenatal development more visible and understandable. When students and others are shown real images, animations, or ultrasound pictures, it becomes easier to see that a baby is developing in a clear and organized way. This can help people understand prenatal life in a more informed and thoughtful way, rather than seeing it as something unknown or distant.
This law can also help me share the value of preborn life with others by giving me clear, factual information to explain what is happening during early development. When I can describe how a baby grows week by week, it becomes easier to have respectful conversations with others. It helps me explain that prenatal life is active and developing from the very beginning, and that each stage is part of a continuous process of growth.
In conclusion, the eight-week stage of development shows how quickly and carefully a baby’s body begins to form. Learning about prenatal human development helps people understand the early stages of life in a clearer way. It also helps others recognize the importance of understanding and appreciating life as it develops from its earliest beginning.
Second Place, Junior Division
Grade 8 - Homeschool
One important stage of a baby’s development is around eight weeks after fertilization. At this stage, the baby is about the size of a raspberry or a kidney bean. The baby has a small head and an even smaller body that is still forming and growing.
The tiny heart is already beating and pumping blood, and the baby’s brain is rapidly developing. The arms and legs begin to grow longer, and more details start to appear, such as the beginnings of fingers and toes. Even though the baby is still very small, many important parts of the body are already forming and working together as it continues to grow. Small movements may even begin, even though the mother cannot feel them yet. At this stage, the baby already has a clear and organized structure that is developing step by step.
Understanding this stage is important because it shows how early and detailed human life begins. A baby is not suddenly formed later in pregnancy, but instead grows through a continuous process starting from the very beginning. Learning about prenatal development helps people recognize that even the earliest stages of life involve real growth, structure, and change. It helps build awareness that development is happening long before birth is visible.
The Right to Life law helps bring attention to this by making prenatal development more visible and understandable. When students and others are shown real images, animations, or ultrasound pictures, it becomes easier to see that a baby is developing in a clear and organized way. This can help people understand prenatal life in a more informed and thoughtful way, rather than seeing it as something unknown or distant.
This law can also help me share the value of preborn life with others by giving me clear, factual information to explain what is happening during early development. When I can describe how a baby grows week by week, it becomes easier to have respectful conversations with others. It helps me explain that prenatal life is active and developing from the very beginning, and that each stage is part of a continuous process of growth.
In conclusion, the eight-week stage of development shows how quickly and carefully a baby’s body begins to form. Learning about prenatal human development helps people understand the early stages of life in a clearer way. It also helps others recognize the importance of understanding and appreciating life as it develops from its earliest beginning.
Gabrielle Feller
First Place, Senior Division
Grade 11 - Homeschool
Every day that I drive past the Emma Goldman clinic in Iowa City I am overwhelmed by the disregard for the value of each life lost in that small city block. Throughout the days that I pass the clinic, one thought is at the forefront of my mind: “If only more people knew about the human body.” This may seem like a strange thing to think after passing by such a place, but after learning more about the intricacies of prenatal human development, it feels impossible to imagine not uplifting the sanctity and value of life within the womb.
I was blessed with the opportunity to take Anatomy and Physiology II this past semester. In this course, we covered many subjects; the one I was most interested in was embryology and development. We briefly learned about the development of the fetus inside the womb and the different stages of development.
Like taking any other community college class, the course seemed to rush through each topic, but this rush felt especially prevalent in this section. As my professor lectured on the different stages of fetal development, I took a look around at my classmates; their blank, confused stares made me wonder if they had ever been formally taught human development in any depth before this moment.
This look of confusion, frankly, confused me. Like many other homeschoolers, I was taught proper terminology of human development from a young age. So seeing adults struggling to name basic stages of development within the womb is heartbreaking, especially regarding such an important stage in each of our lives.
Earlier that year, Iowa passed the Prenatal Human Development Education Bill to require schools to show students in grades 5-12 a realistic computer generated rendering or animation of prenatal human development. For many students, this could be the first time they are being shown a depiction of what is truly happening within the womb.
I firmly believe that when students learn with the principles of the good, the truth, and the beautiful, they will always be naturally inclined to just that. School should not teach students to regurgitate information, but should seek to prepare students to be well-educated and morally upright members of society using these principles. Right now, many school systems in America are neglecting to teach students how to be morally upright members of society, often a direct result of avoiding ‘sensitive’ topics, regarding life in the womb. If students are taught the humanity of the unborn child, these students will be far more likely to continue seeing the value of life within the womb for years to come.
We can see, even in babies, that children are oriented towards learning. Babies learn routines, sign language, and eventually how to make noises and words. But children, at their core, learn their behaviors from the adults around them. They learn how to interact with adults and other children; children are taught ‘good’ or ‘bad’ behaviors to help children form their moral conscience that will influence their morality for the rest of their lives. Children are naturally oriented to want to do good, but this conscience is only formed when they have a mediator for moral guidance.
If children lack this mediator, their discernment between good and bad becomes skewed. An example of this problem is when children are little, they are taught that babies are in their mothers' bellies. Somewhere along the way to adulthood, this value of life is lost in some cases. The Prenatal Human Development Education Bill could be the key to keeping the dignity and value of that life within the womb by giving students the truth.
The value of every human life is inherent. In America, we recognize that every adolescent and adult is worthy of life and therefore should not be murdered. Why should being inside the womb be any different? Biologically, a fetus is no different from you and I, as a fetus is also made with the same genetic material as both parents, and the development and potentials are little different than that of a newborn. If a child, at the end of their schooling, has not definitively been taught the development, potential, and value of the unborn, our school system has failed them. I pray that the Prenatal Human Development Education Bill will shed light onto the sanctity of life in the womb and lead to a cultural shift towards respect for life. Next time you drive past the Emma Goldman clinic, or any other abortion clinic, you too can think about the hope for the humanity of life being recognized within the womb.
First Place, Senior Division
Grade 11 - Homeschool
Every day that I drive past the Emma Goldman clinic in Iowa City I am overwhelmed by the disregard for the value of each life lost in that small city block. Throughout the days that I pass the clinic, one thought is at the forefront of my mind: “If only more people knew about the human body.” This may seem like a strange thing to think after passing by such a place, but after learning more about the intricacies of prenatal human development, it feels impossible to imagine not uplifting the sanctity and value of life within the womb.
I was blessed with the opportunity to take Anatomy and Physiology II this past semester. In this course, we covered many subjects; the one I was most interested in was embryology and development. We briefly learned about the development of the fetus inside the womb and the different stages of development.
Like taking any other community college class, the course seemed to rush through each topic, but this rush felt especially prevalent in this section. As my professor lectured on the different stages of fetal development, I took a look around at my classmates; their blank, confused stares made me wonder if they had ever been formally taught human development in any depth before this moment.
This look of confusion, frankly, confused me. Like many other homeschoolers, I was taught proper terminology of human development from a young age. So seeing adults struggling to name basic stages of development within the womb is heartbreaking, especially regarding such an important stage in each of our lives.
Earlier that year, Iowa passed the Prenatal Human Development Education Bill to require schools to show students in grades 5-12 a realistic computer generated rendering or animation of prenatal human development. For many students, this could be the first time they are being shown a depiction of what is truly happening within the womb.
I firmly believe that when students learn with the principles of the good, the truth, and the beautiful, they will always be naturally inclined to just that. School should not teach students to regurgitate information, but should seek to prepare students to be well-educated and morally upright members of society using these principles. Right now, many school systems in America are neglecting to teach students how to be morally upright members of society, often a direct result of avoiding ‘sensitive’ topics, regarding life in the womb. If students are taught the humanity of the unborn child, these students will be far more likely to continue seeing the value of life within the womb for years to come.
We can see, even in babies, that children are oriented towards learning. Babies learn routines, sign language, and eventually how to make noises and words. But children, at their core, learn their behaviors from the adults around them. They learn how to interact with adults and other children; children are taught ‘good’ or ‘bad’ behaviors to help children form their moral conscience that will influence their morality for the rest of their lives. Children are naturally oriented to want to do good, but this conscience is only formed when they have a mediator for moral guidance.
If children lack this mediator, their discernment between good and bad becomes skewed. An example of this problem is when children are little, they are taught that babies are in their mothers' bellies. Somewhere along the way to adulthood, this value of life is lost in some cases. The Prenatal Human Development Education Bill could be the key to keeping the dignity and value of that life within the womb by giving students the truth.
The value of every human life is inherent. In America, we recognize that every adolescent and adult is worthy of life and therefore should not be murdered. Why should being inside the womb be any different? Biologically, a fetus is no different from you and I, as a fetus is also made with the same genetic material as both parents, and the development and potentials are little different than that of a newborn. If a child, at the end of their schooling, has not definitively been taught the development, potential, and value of the unborn, our school system has failed them. I pray that the Prenatal Human Development Education Bill will shed light onto the sanctity of life in the womb and lead to a cultural shift towards respect for life. Next time you drive past the Emma Goldman clinic, or any other abortion clinic, you too can think about the hope for the humanity of life being recognized within the womb.
James Seger
Second Place, Senior Division
Grade 9 - Homeschool
“The Dignity of Every Human Life”
Humans are complex yet simple creatures, driven by foundational desires to be loved, accepted, and respected. These all fall under one central pursuit: finding purpose. The ultimate goal in a secular society is “happiness” brought by temporary fulfillments and experiences. Does every person have a chance to find belonging and live the life God created them for? Tragically, the answer is no. Life is meant to be lived to the fullest, yet millions of unborn children are killed by parents’ choice before they are given a chance to thrive. Abortion is widely presented as a “normal” medical practice but conceals a dark and tragic reality.
Valuing human life means recognizing the inherent dignity of each unique life, from the elderly in their final years, to unborn children in the earliest stages of development. Society is drastically split about what actually defines a human life. With Iowa’s new Prenatal Human Development Education Bill, students grade 5-12 in school systems will see the development of human life in immense biological detail. Learning about prenatal development naturally opens their minds to realize the unborn child is much more human than a clump of cells.
Learning about prenatal human development will help students realize the moral responsibility pregnant women have. At the exact moment of fertilization, two incredible things happen. From a Christian perspective, it's the starting point of a being's body, soul and existence. This education shows the reality of life in the womb and forcibly terminating such unique human development. Even from a secular standpoint, visually seeing the reality of the individual unborn child, you cannot deny it’s a separate being. In addition to promoting this educationally, we should teach students the importance of adoption and the separate support systems apart from abortion.
It's extremely vital to educate about prenatal human development as it pertains to the earliest stages of human identity. Why would science class talk about the detailed development of a fish but not unborn humans? As a part of biology, it's common sense to include the most important species (humans). This curriculum will empower young students to realize that even unborn children fulfill every characteristic of a living organism. Part of the issue with women getting abortions is they don’t fully know the risks. They’ve been influenced by society as a whole claiming it's normal and acceptable. According to a six-month 2023 study from preborm.com eighty-one percent of women who felt unsure about their pregnancy chose to continue after getting an ultrasound. This proves that women witnessing life in the womb awakens responsibility and creates a strong bond between mother and child.
Any attempt to humanize the dehumanized by the abortion industry will have a positive outcome. Even if only one mind is changed, that's one unborn infant saved from termination. This could educate people who came into these classrooms not knowing what an unborn baby truly is. They will see and hear the unique heartbeat separate from the mother. Many vulnerable people have been taught that pregnancy is a stressful inconvenient thing that should be prevented. This is not right. Furthermore, according to a comparative study done by the NLM (National Library of Medicine) sixty-five percent of the two hundred and seventeen American women studied experienced multiple symptoms of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) after getting an abortion. This shows the emotional impact the abortion has on the mother, often regretting their decision.
I hope and pray this law will have a significant impact on women going through these situations. Even in cases of incest and rape, there are other options. I will never be able to understand how traumatic these experiences have been for women. However, I believe humans conceived by rape or incest are still deserving of immense equal love and care. This law will allow students to really see what's going on behind the scenes. They won’t just see the final product but the actual process and development. I pray this law will change hearts. I too have been in very difficult times and situations. The one thing that helped me most was faith and putting trust in God. For it's not this world we're striving for, but the next. Choose Life!
Sources
https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Introductory_Biology_(CK-12)/01%3A_Introduction_to_Biology/1.04%3A_Characteristics_of_Life
https://howsheteaches.com/2022/08/12/how-she-teaches-being-alive-6-characteristics-of-living-things/
https://caringnetwork.org/why-abortion-minded-women-choose-life-after-an-ultrasound/
https://preborn.com/2023-impact-report/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15448616/
Second Place, Senior Division
Grade 9 - Homeschool
“The Dignity of Every Human Life”
Humans are complex yet simple creatures, driven by foundational desires to be loved, accepted, and respected. These all fall under one central pursuit: finding purpose. The ultimate goal in a secular society is “happiness” brought by temporary fulfillments and experiences. Does every person have a chance to find belonging and live the life God created them for? Tragically, the answer is no. Life is meant to be lived to the fullest, yet millions of unborn children are killed by parents’ choice before they are given a chance to thrive. Abortion is widely presented as a “normal” medical practice but conceals a dark and tragic reality.
Valuing human life means recognizing the inherent dignity of each unique life, from the elderly in their final years, to unborn children in the earliest stages of development. Society is drastically split about what actually defines a human life. With Iowa’s new Prenatal Human Development Education Bill, students grade 5-12 in school systems will see the development of human life in immense biological detail. Learning about prenatal development naturally opens their minds to realize the unborn child is much more human than a clump of cells.
Learning about prenatal human development will help students realize the moral responsibility pregnant women have. At the exact moment of fertilization, two incredible things happen. From a Christian perspective, it's the starting point of a being's body, soul and existence. This education shows the reality of life in the womb and forcibly terminating such unique human development. Even from a secular standpoint, visually seeing the reality of the individual unborn child, you cannot deny it’s a separate being. In addition to promoting this educationally, we should teach students the importance of adoption and the separate support systems apart from abortion.
It's extremely vital to educate about prenatal human development as it pertains to the earliest stages of human identity. Why would science class talk about the detailed development of a fish but not unborn humans? As a part of biology, it's common sense to include the most important species (humans). This curriculum will empower young students to realize that even unborn children fulfill every characteristic of a living organism. Part of the issue with women getting abortions is they don’t fully know the risks. They’ve been influenced by society as a whole claiming it's normal and acceptable. According to a six-month 2023 study from preborm.com eighty-one percent of women who felt unsure about their pregnancy chose to continue after getting an ultrasound. This proves that women witnessing life in the womb awakens responsibility and creates a strong bond between mother and child.
Any attempt to humanize the dehumanized by the abortion industry will have a positive outcome. Even if only one mind is changed, that's one unborn infant saved from termination. This could educate people who came into these classrooms not knowing what an unborn baby truly is. They will see and hear the unique heartbeat separate from the mother. Many vulnerable people have been taught that pregnancy is a stressful inconvenient thing that should be prevented. This is not right. Furthermore, according to a comparative study done by the NLM (National Library of Medicine) sixty-five percent of the two hundred and seventeen American women studied experienced multiple symptoms of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) after getting an abortion. This shows the emotional impact the abortion has on the mother, often regretting their decision.
I hope and pray this law will have a significant impact on women going through these situations. Even in cases of incest and rape, there are other options. I will never be able to understand how traumatic these experiences have been for women. However, I believe humans conceived by rape or incest are still deserving of immense equal love and care. This law will allow students to really see what's going on behind the scenes. They won’t just see the final product but the actual process and development. I pray this law will change hearts. I too have been in very difficult times and situations. The one thing that helped me most was faith and putting trust in God. For it's not this world we're striving for, but the next. Choose Life!
Sources
https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Introductory_Biology_(CK-12)/01%3A_Introduction_to_Biology/1.04%3A_Characteristics_of_Life
https://howsheteaches.com/2022/08/12/how-she-teaches-being-alive-6-characteristics-of-living-things/
https://caringnetwork.org/why-abortion-minded-women-choose-life-after-an-ultrasound/
https://preborn.com/2023-impact-report/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15448616/
Lorelai Onken
Third Place, Senior Division
Grade 9 - Regina High School
Abortion: The Slaughtering of New Life
What is the meaning of life? The meaning of life is to know, love, and serve God, sharing in his divine life and being happy with him forever in heaven (CCC 1). Every living thing from the smallest microbe to the largest whale has a purpose in this world. All life is sacred. The ending of life is murder. That is what abortion is, the brutal slaughter of a baby within a woman’s womb. It is important for students to understand the importance of life and the immorality of abortion for the sake of learning empathy and respect for life. Introducing Pro-Life concepts into our culture today would create an environment with a better regard for life.
To value life from the earliest stages of development is to understand that life is a sacred, miraculous thing. According to science, life comes from a soup of the chemicals needed to produce amino acids, the building blocks of protein. How is it possible for chemicals to produce a being capable of abstract thinking and consciousness? Such consciousness requires a creator beyond heat and chemical reactions. God has made everything. Hence, making everything sacred, especially life. Most people would never break a fertilized egg because they know that egg will one day be a future animal. So, how is a baby in a woman’s womb any different? How is getting an abortion any different? It is not. An embryo is the first stages of human development. From the moment it is conceived through the sacred intimacy of a male and a female, the embryo has a soul. It has a future of some kind. The best way to respect life is to learn about its beginnings.
The best way to begin to understand this is through a proper education. If schools took the effort to teach students the process of life development and how precious it all is, then levels of abortion would lower. If a student is shown how a human starts as an embryo, how it grows flesh and bones, develops organs, senses, and lastly the final details of the human anatomy, like the ability to measure temperature.then they will be able to respect the formation of life. This will create an understanding of why abortion is murder. It is the ending of a life before it can live. Schools need to teach this for the sake of bringing about young men and women who respect every living thing, even the smallest Who.
The eradication of abortion would bring about an overall more empathetic culture. Abortion supports the “removal” of anyone or anything who is unwanted or just a “burden”. For example, in Canada, unfortunately it is legal and all too common for medical professionals to permanently euthanize anyone who is old, extremely sick, or just wants to die. There is no warmth there. No consideration. No help for those who could be helped. There are some instances in Canada where dementia patients who no longer want to die because they do not remember saying that they wanted to die when they got to a certain point in their dementia are still euthanize. These patients are helpless, just like the millions of aborted babies. Learning to respect all life would also lead to the respect and compassion towards children without proper care, immigrants, war victims, the homeless, and anyone else in need. The end to abortion would bring about a sense of empathy and love for all those who are in need of it.
Abortion is murder. This statement is true. However, actions speak louder than words. What we need to do is spread awareness through both online posts and raising money for Pro-Life charities. Most importantly, though, we need to pray and show respect for life. We need to treat each other, animals, plants, and ourselves with respect and love. Jesus Christ most of all showed a respect for life. He accepted even the most lowly and meek: prostitutes, lepers, cripples, children, etc. Jesus loved children, especially. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my father who is in heaven.” (Mt. 18:10). If Jesus, the Son of God who died on the cross because he loved life so much that he died a horrible death on the cross for our sake, can respect life, then why can’t we? Be more like Jesus. Respect life, educate yourself on what life is and how it develops, and teach the younger ones on the beauty of life for the sake of our culture. Abortion is the violation of one of the most beautiful things in the universe: life.
Third Place, Senior Division
Grade 9 - Regina High School
Abortion: The Slaughtering of New Life
What is the meaning of life? The meaning of life is to know, love, and serve God, sharing in his divine life and being happy with him forever in heaven (CCC 1). Every living thing from the smallest microbe to the largest whale has a purpose in this world. All life is sacred. The ending of life is murder. That is what abortion is, the brutal slaughter of a baby within a woman’s womb. It is important for students to understand the importance of life and the immorality of abortion for the sake of learning empathy and respect for life. Introducing Pro-Life concepts into our culture today would create an environment with a better regard for life.
To value life from the earliest stages of development is to understand that life is a sacred, miraculous thing. According to science, life comes from a soup of the chemicals needed to produce amino acids, the building blocks of protein. How is it possible for chemicals to produce a being capable of abstract thinking and consciousness? Such consciousness requires a creator beyond heat and chemical reactions. God has made everything. Hence, making everything sacred, especially life. Most people would never break a fertilized egg because they know that egg will one day be a future animal. So, how is a baby in a woman’s womb any different? How is getting an abortion any different? It is not. An embryo is the first stages of human development. From the moment it is conceived through the sacred intimacy of a male and a female, the embryo has a soul. It has a future of some kind. The best way to respect life is to learn about its beginnings.
The best way to begin to understand this is through a proper education. If schools took the effort to teach students the process of life development and how precious it all is, then levels of abortion would lower. If a student is shown how a human starts as an embryo, how it grows flesh and bones, develops organs, senses, and lastly the final details of the human anatomy, like the ability to measure temperature.then they will be able to respect the formation of life. This will create an understanding of why abortion is murder. It is the ending of a life before it can live. Schools need to teach this for the sake of bringing about young men and women who respect every living thing, even the smallest Who.
The eradication of abortion would bring about an overall more empathetic culture. Abortion supports the “removal” of anyone or anything who is unwanted or just a “burden”. For example, in Canada, unfortunately it is legal and all too common for medical professionals to permanently euthanize anyone who is old, extremely sick, or just wants to die. There is no warmth there. No consideration. No help for those who could be helped. There are some instances in Canada where dementia patients who no longer want to die because they do not remember saying that they wanted to die when they got to a certain point in their dementia are still euthanize. These patients are helpless, just like the millions of aborted babies. Learning to respect all life would also lead to the respect and compassion towards children without proper care, immigrants, war victims, the homeless, and anyone else in need. The end to abortion would bring about a sense of empathy and love for all those who are in need of it.
Abortion is murder. This statement is true. However, actions speak louder than words. What we need to do is spread awareness through both online posts and raising money for Pro-Life charities. Most importantly, though, we need to pray and show respect for life. We need to treat each other, animals, plants, and ourselves with respect and love. Jesus Christ most of all showed a respect for life. He accepted even the most lowly and meek: prostitutes, lepers, cripples, children, etc. Jesus loved children, especially. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my father who is in heaven.” (Mt. 18:10). If Jesus, the Son of God who died on the cross because he loved life so much that he died a horrible death on the cross for our sake, can respect life, then why can’t we? Be more like Jesus. Respect life, educate yourself on what life is and how it develops, and teach the younger ones on the beauty of life for the sake of our culture. Abortion is the violation of one of the most beautiful things in the universe: life.
Alyssa Konz
First Place, College Division
University of Iowa
Quiet Beginnings
After a long and dreary winter, the days are getting longer. Spring is coming and with it there is great hope of puddles to splash in and flowers to smell. Still, looking across the field, there is a sense of emptiness. The grass hasn’t greened. The field is brown, barren, still. Day after day, the field remains. It looks forgotten and abandoned.
But beneath the surface, something hidden is beginning to stir. Invisible to the eye and yet fully present, seeds take in what they need from the earth. The tiny seeds once held in a hand break open so they can become more.
Roots shoot out—not upward, not visible—anchoring themselves. The first growth is downward and hidden. Only then does the life begin to rise upward, still hidden beneath the soil.
Until one day the field isn’t empty. There are small green shoots coming up, so small one must bend down to see them. Soon enough, little green plants line the field. The field that appeared empty was already full of life. And so it is that life often begins—quiet, hidden, and imperceptible.
Human life begins much the same way—quietly, before anyone realizes it has begun. A beginning so small it cannot be seen and for a time is only known to God Himself.
This was once true of you.
Before your name was spoken, before anyone knew your laugh, you existed silently. Before your mother and father even knew, you were perfectly alive and growing.
In the beginning, you existed, unknown to every other soul on earth, hidden, tucked away in the womb of your mother.
You were knit together intentionally, intricately. A tiny heart began beating, though no one else could hear it yet. There was no face yet seen, no memory yet formed. The miracle of a beautiful human life was unfolding quietly before the world even noticed.
We often demand beginnings to be noticeable and importance to be announced. Ribbon cuttings, stages, crowds, podiums, and awards. We associate significance with visibility and greatness with noise. We wait for green shoots lining the field before believing it to be alive at all. But human life does not begin that way. It begins with a person no one yet knows, a heartbeat no one yet hears. It begins with silent growth. Life begins unnoticed. Life does not begin unimportant. What matters most is not always what is first seen.
Your mother, your teacher, your coach, your mentor once existed silently. Every person you have ever loved began this way. The hands that bandaged a scraped knee, wiped away tears, and hugged so tightly were formed in secret. Every person whose life has touched ours once existed without so much as a name. The people who have changed the world once fit within the hiddenness of a womb.
You were hidden from the world, yet you were deeply known. Long before you were introduced to the world, your mother carried you. She changed her habits, protected her body, and wondered who the little one she was carrying would become. She spoke to you, read to you, sang to you. She loved you fiercely long before she ever saw you.
You were entirely dependent on your mother. Before you could walk, you were carried. Before you could speak, others listened joyfully to your heartbeat. Before you could survive on your own, your mother sheltered you within her own body. Long before you could care for yourself, contribute to anything, or even speak your own name, your life deeply mattered. You were loved and cared for simply because you existed. We are drawn to independence, strength, and achievement, yet we begin fragile, small, and entirely dependent on another.
Sometimes we must bend down and look closely before we can recognize the life that is before us. The small green shoots were always real, even before they were noticed. After bending down and getting dirt on your nose to see them, though, you develop a great reverence for all that occurs underground. It is not that the seed becomes important once recognized. Rather, its inherent importance is recognized.
Perhaps this is why learning to see hidden life matters at all. Not because recognition creates value, but because recognition changes the one who sees. Once we understand what is unfolding beneath the surface, we recognize the beauty that is there. Mountains are no less magnificent before we stand beneath them, nor is the ocean less vast before we reach the shore. Yet encountering them fills us with awe. So it is with human life. Wonder slows us down in a world that prioritizes efficiency. It teaches us to look carefully at what first appeared ordinary or absent.
Human dignity was never dependent on visibility, achievement, or recognition. It has been present from the very beginning and remains throughout every stage of life. The babe in a mother’s arms, the teenager searching for who they are, the exhausted parent, and the person taking their last breath all carry the same great dignity they possessed in their hidden beginning. Human worth does not appear suddenly with strength, intelligence, or success. It is not something gradually earned, but something carried quietly from the very beginning. Remembering this changes how we see one another. It changes how we treat one another. It demands love and respect, of which the world is in great need.
The field was never empty simply because its life could not yet be seen. On the eve of summer, the field is unrecognizable. It no longer appears empty. Green stretches as far as the eye can see where only months before there was nothing but soil and silence. Looking across the field now, it seems impossible to have ever called it barren. Beneath the surface and hidden from sight, life was unfolding quietly all along. The life hidden beneath the soil was never waiting to become valuable; it already was.
First Place, College Division
University of Iowa
Quiet Beginnings
After a long and dreary winter, the days are getting longer. Spring is coming and with it there is great hope of puddles to splash in and flowers to smell. Still, looking across the field, there is a sense of emptiness. The grass hasn’t greened. The field is brown, barren, still. Day after day, the field remains. It looks forgotten and abandoned.
But beneath the surface, something hidden is beginning to stir. Invisible to the eye and yet fully present, seeds take in what they need from the earth. The tiny seeds once held in a hand break open so they can become more.
Roots shoot out—not upward, not visible—anchoring themselves. The first growth is downward and hidden. Only then does the life begin to rise upward, still hidden beneath the soil.
Until one day the field isn’t empty. There are small green shoots coming up, so small one must bend down to see them. Soon enough, little green plants line the field. The field that appeared empty was already full of life. And so it is that life often begins—quiet, hidden, and imperceptible.
Human life begins much the same way—quietly, before anyone realizes it has begun. A beginning so small it cannot be seen and for a time is only known to God Himself.
This was once true of you.
Before your name was spoken, before anyone knew your laugh, you existed silently. Before your mother and father even knew, you were perfectly alive and growing.
In the beginning, you existed, unknown to every other soul on earth, hidden, tucked away in the womb of your mother.
You were knit together intentionally, intricately. A tiny heart began beating, though no one else could hear it yet. There was no face yet seen, no memory yet formed. The miracle of a beautiful human life was unfolding quietly before the world even noticed.
We often demand beginnings to be noticeable and importance to be announced. Ribbon cuttings, stages, crowds, podiums, and awards. We associate significance with visibility and greatness with noise. We wait for green shoots lining the field before believing it to be alive at all. But human life does not begin that way. It begins with a person no one yet knows, a heartbeat no one yet hears. It begins with silent growth. Life begins unnoticed. Life does not begin unimportant. What matters most is not always what is first seen.
Your mother, your teacher, your coach, your mentor once existed silently. Every person you have ever loved began this way. The hands that bandaged a scraped knee, wiped away tears, and hugged so tightly were formed in secret. Every person whose life has touched ours once existed without so much as a name. The people who have changed the world once fit within the hiddenness of a womb.
You were hidden from the world, yet you were deeply known. Long before you were introduced to the world, your mother carried you. She changed her habits, protected her body, and wondered who the little one she was carrying would become. She spoke to you, read to you, sang to you. She loved you fiercely long before she ever saw you.
You were entirely dependent on your mother. Before you could walk, you were carried. Before you could speak, others listened joyfully to your heartbeat. Before you could survive on your own, your mother sheltered you within her own body. Long before you could care for yourself, contribute to anything, or even speak your own name, your life deeply mattered. You were loved and cared for simply because you existed. We are drawn to independence, strength, and achievement, yet we begin fragile, small, and entirely dependent on another.
Sometimes we must bend down and look closely before we can recognize the life that is before us. The small green shoots were always real, even before they were noticed. After bending down and getting dirt on your nose to see them, though, you develop a great reverence for all that occurs underground. It is not that the seed becomes important once recognized. Rather, its inherent importance is recognized.
Perhaps this is why learning to see hidden life matters at all. Not because recognition creates value, but because recognition changes the one who sees. Once we understand what is unfolding beneath the surface, we recognize the beauty that is there. Mountains are no less magnificent before we stand beneath them, nor is the ocean less vast before we reach the shore. Yet encountering them fills us with awe. So it is with human life. Wonder slows us down in a world that prioritizes efficiency. It teaches us to look carefully at what first appeared ordinary or absent.
Human dignity was never dependent on visibility, achievement, or recognition. It has been present from the very beginning and remains throughout every stage of life. The babe in a mother’s arms, the teenager searching for who they are, the exhausted parent, and the person taking their last breath all carry the same great dignity they possessed in their hidden beginning. Human worth does not appear suddenly with strength, intelligence, or success. It is not something gradually earned, but something carried quietly from the very beginning. Remembering this changes how we see one another. It changes how we treat one another. It demands love and respect, of which the world is in great need.
The field was never empty simply because its life could not yet be seen. On the eve of summer, the field is unrecognizable. It no longer appears empty. Green stretches as far as the eye can see where only months before there was nothing but soil and silence. Looking across the field now, it seems impossible to have ever called it barren. Beneath the surface and hidden from sight, life was unfolding quietly all along. The life hidden beneath the soil was never waiting to become valuable; it already was.