The sixth annual Prolife Essay Contest was open to students in grades 7-9 in the junior category and students in grades 10-12 in the senior category.
In the senior division, eleventh-grader Noel Vanderbilt won first place. In the junior contest, Andrew Bajdek and Jack Bartish, both in ninth grade, won first and second place respectively. Contestants had to write an essay articulating why they are personally prolife.
Vanderbilt wrote about justice for the vulnerable as she described living with her brother, who has Down syndrome. “My brother has taught me that every life has value and dignity,” she stated. “When I stand before my King and my Creator, the One who designed human life, I want to be able to say, with confidence, that I defended the rights of the vulnerable and fought to bring justice to His precious children, including the unborn.”
“Thou Shall Not Abort the Mission of Life” was the title of Bajdek’s essay. “The freedom of choice should be prohibited when it comes to ending a human life. Abortion is immoral under every circumstance,” he wrote, “but with the help of others, mothers can be guided through their pregnancies; adoptions are always an option.”
The winners received monetary prizes and their essays were submitted to the National Right to Life competition.