Editor’s note. Yesterday we starting reposting all six of the winning essays from the 2023 NRLC Essay contest. We began with the third place winner in the Senior Division, today we are posting the second place winner for grades 10-12. Next week we will report the three winners in Junior Division which is grades 7-9.
Why I am pro-life
By Joshua K.
At four years old, my family and I made our first “March for Life,” one cold, Sunday morning. While it wasn’t with thousands of others at the annual rally opposing abortion in Washington, D.C., I’d say it was equally profound. My parent guided my little feet that day as we marched with steady steps around the perimenter of our parish church, ending at a memorial plaque entitled, “Tomb of the Unborn.” It was there that I learned the value of life in the womb, and that advocacy for the unborn truly matters. These truths have laid a consistent and foundational pro-life cadence, to which I now march to in my life with even bigger steps.
While the United States Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide with its 1973 Roe versus Wade decision, there was a sharp shift in June of this year as the allowance of abortion as the law of the land was deemed unconstitutional, reverting its legality back to the states. This recent Dobbs versus Jackson Health Organization decision helped me see that although much can happen in one’s lifetime, the Pro-Life mission is as important as ever. As we march forward we must focus on ways of being instruments of truth for others and bringing about final conversion of hearts and minds through conversation, not just legislation.
While the steps people take may look different, we all have responsibility to protect the sacred nature and dignity of human life. Through thought, word, and deed, it is crucial to be there for the unborn as well as the parents who have lost a child to the decision of abortion. This sentiment has guided my steps to a leadership role in the Pro-Life club at my school and to served as a youth volunteer for the Mother of Life Center, assisting woman and families in need.
The more I learn and experience, I realize just how personal this issue is as we fight to protect people! I cannot bear the thought that many justify killing those in the womb, denying that they are even people at all, and even demand their termination at a full term pregnancy. Society has also pushed for mothers to have access to abortion pills to take in their very own homes. We have lost so many people to abortion through misguided information and have lost sight of children as a gift, who will grow up to impact or world.
So, while I am blessed to be here, I realize that I must be their advocate, their friends, and most importantly, their voice. At 15 years old, I continue to stand with perseverance at the Tomb of the Unborn, ready to keep marching and keep moving. I am moved to action, moved to forgiveness, and moved to a greater respect for the worth and dignity of every human life. This is at the heart of why I am Pro-Life.