Washington County Right To Life Honors Essay Contest Finalists

Washington County Right To Life held their Essay Contest Award Night on April 9. Each student was presented a check after they read their essay. Those honored were, FROM LEFT, Caitlynn Pytlinski, 8th grade Trinity– St. John, 1st place; Savannah Downey, 7th grade T–SJ, 1st place; Lauren Rapp, 7th grade T–SJ, 1st place; Megan Rennegarbe, 7th grade Immanuel Okawville, 2nd place; Abigail Meyer, 7th grade Trinity Hoyleton, 2nd place; Luke Welte, 7th grade T-SJ, 3rd place; Kristine May, 7th grade T–SJ, 4th place.

Washington County Right To Life holds an annual essay contest. The winning essays are reprinted here, along with the photo of the winners, ABOVE.
Dear Mother To Be,
Are you in a difficult situation and considering an abortion? If so, I am here to convince you to do otherwise. A child is a person whether born or unborn. God knows every child before they are born, Jeremiah 1:4-5 says “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” Every 24 seconds a baby dies from abortion. Even though abortion is legal there are other answers.
Many milestones happen before you are born. Once one of the sperm cells reach the egg cell a unique individual has formed. By Days 17-19 there are blood vessels forming and the spinal cord, brain and nervous system are laid. There is a heartbeat and the eyes are forming by Day 21. Between days 26 and 32 the baby’s lungs, arms, legs and fingers begin moving. At day 52 many nerve connections, eyelids, and 99% of the muscles are formed. At week 8 the baby is the size of your thumb, and every organ is working. By week 12 the baby practices breathing, urinates, and can swallow. During the 4th month the baby can flip, suck their thumb, and can sense pain. In month 9 the baby triggers labor and birth occurs.
A baby can feel pain at only 6 weeks gestation. Abortions between 7-8 weeks are performed with a drug called Mifepristone which destroys the connection between the mom and baby by breaking down the lining of the uterus. In weeks 9-12 vacuum aspiration is done with a plastic tube inserted into the womb that pulls the baby out in pieces. Dialation and Evacuation happens when the cervix is dilated, and the baby is pulled into pieces and removed. The baby may also be poisoned with digoxin leading to a deadly heart attack. Another method is cutting the umbilical cord to deprive the baby of oxygen. Late term abortions are done after the 20th week of gestation. The heart has been beating for 3 months already and the baby can smell, taste, make facial expressions and has fingerprints. Partial birth abortions are when the baby’s brains are sucked out of an opening made with scissors and the baby’s hands and feet are already active and moving! Proverbs 6:16-19 says “God hates hands that shed innocent blood.”
Your own health is at risk by having an abortion. The abortion drug, RU-486, can lead to complications such as breast cancer, hemorrhage and risk of future miscarriages. After an abortion the baby’s father feels emotional pain too. He will suffer from feelings of loss and guilt. In the future you should consider abstinence to prevent pregnancy.
There are 72 diseases that adult stem cells have treated. Some believe that embryonic stem cells can cure them, but this is not true. Companies profit from the sale of tissues and organs from aborted babies. Should abortion be legal knowing that all these terrible things happen? Poland made abortion illegal and lives were saved. Poland had 168,000 abortions in 1968, but later this number dropped to only 225 in 2005.
Please consider adoption as an answer for your unplanned pregnancy. Abortion is final but adoption allows your child the chance to live and grow. In the U.S. there are 36 couples waiting for every child that gets adopted who would love to give your child a loving home. If you need help call 1-(618)-532-3111.

Sincerely,
Lauren Rapp

Dear mother-to-be,
Did you know that after just 21 days a baby’s heart is beating, and they start to have human functions? Psalms 139:14 says, “I praise you because I’m fearfully and wonderfully made.” God makes each of us in his own image and according to the Bible we should praise him for our life.
Your baby begins life when sperm and egg cells meet. By day 18 a baby has a brain, spinal cord and nervous system. Next the baby’s arms, fingers and toes. Day 52 your baby can hiccup and other functions and features. At this point a precious little you is developing inside you. The months to follow your baby takes on more human functions and is able to hear you.
Aborting a child is killing a human being, It’s sad that every 24 seconds a baby dies from abortion, and 10,000 to 15,000 fetuses are killed in late term pregnancies. Getting an abortion can be painful for the mother and baby. A 18 week gestation baby can feel pain too! Many infections can come to a mother that gets an abortion and possibly death. Abortion interrupts the natural hormones with growing unspecialized cells that increase your chances of getting breast cancer.
Abortion hurts you physically and emotionally. Guilty and depressed can come for years. What if your child is the one who could make a difference in the world? Think of the guilt and shame you will have every-time you see a child playing. The father, too may feel guilty. A father has an instinct to protect his family, he may feel like he failed. Abortion will change you and all the others around you for life.
Partial birth abortion is a procedure in which the live baby is pulled out of the womb. The person performing the abortion inserts a tool that punctures the base of the baby’s skull and then removes the baby’s brain with a powerful suction. Some people also harvest baby parts for profit. Both of these tings are morally wrong! In the Embryonic stem cells, there is not a single cure by killing a baby one week after being conceived.
Approximately 2 million couples in the USA are waiting to adopt a child each year. With adoption you will feel good that your child is going to a loving family. With abortion you can’t reverse your decision, but with adoption you can always keep in contact with your child. This way you can still see God’s marvelous creation develop into a powerful person.
God knows everyone, and he loves them. Jeremiah 1:4-5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” God hates abortion, and forbids it; Proverbs 6:16-19 “God hates hands that shed innocent blood.” God promises forgiveness to you; Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we are still sinners,Christ died for us. God has a special plan for all, it doesn’t matter what state of life you’re in, you are God’s child and valuable to him.
Abstinence is the best way if we feel we are not ready for a baby, God states in the sixth commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.’ We need to lead sexually pure and decent lives. You need to practice abstinence, control sexual urges, and reserve sexual intercourses with your marriage partner.
A counselor, doctor, pastor, or family members an guide you through. You can call pregnancy care clinic at 618-532-3111. Don’t resort to abortion, God has a plan for the baby and you.

Savannah Downey

Dear Mother to Be,
Are you considering an abortion? Well don’t. Do you really want to kill a human being, that is your child? I am writing this essay to tell you why abortions are horrible. As you are reading really consider if abortion is really something you want to do.
A baby dies from abortion every 24 seconds. 59,115,495 babies are killed in the U.S. by abortion at the end of 2016. In one survey, 9 in 10 women regret their abortion. Did you know that at 6 weeks old an unborn baby can feel pain? When you have an abortion at 6 weeks or older the baby can feel it. Isn’t that terrible to make your baby suffer?
When using adult stem cells doctor have found cures to diseases, but guess how many diseases have been cured with embryonic stem cells? NOT one single cure by killing a baby one week after being conceived. People are actually trying to make a profit on dead baby parts. Here are some examples: $100 for the eyes and $999 for the brain which is just horrible.
You know what you should do? Adoption. More than 2 million couples across America are waiting to adopt. Even if you don’t want your child, others do. If you do adoption you can still have contact with your child. Of 1,000,000 teenagers only 2% to 3% choose adoption, over 40% choose abortion. Be part of the 2% to 3% to choose adoption!
At 18-20 days after conception, the foundations of the brain, spinal cord, and nervous system are laid and just 21 days after conception the heart of the baby begins to beat. At 26 days the baby’s lungs start to form and after 28-32 days the legs and arms begin to grow. At 70 days the fingers grow fingernails and little fingerprints.
You can be hurt physically and emotionally from abortion. The physical risks include cramping, abdominal pain, infection, which can lead to serious illness or even your death, perforation of the uterus, cervical incompetence, and injury to the cervix. The emotional risks include guilt, depression, anger, sorrow, grief, bitterness, despair, and shame. Have you considered the wishes of the father? In 95% of all abortions the man plays a central role in the decision.
Having an abortion can cause breast cancer. Growing unspecialized cells are vulnerable because cancer occurs when cells grow. Rapidly growing unspecialized cells are the most vulnerable of all because the cells have less chance to correct the genetic errors which occur during cell growth. A teenager who aborts becomes most likely to lose her breast—or her life—to breast cancer.
In partial abortion a doctor takes scissors ad forces them into the baby’s head, killing the baby. Then the doctor sucks all the stuff inside the head out and removes the baby from you.
If you need help to choose what’s best for you call 1-800-712-HELP. You can also go to the Pregnancy Care Center in Centralia, IL or you can call there at 618-532-3111.
In Jeremiah 1:5 God said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.” 1 Corinthiams 6:18 “Flee from sexuality.” “God is with you always, God is your God, God will strengthen you, God will help you, God will uphold you” Isaiah 41:10. Always remember, God loves you very much.

Sincerely,
Caitlynn Pytlinski

Dear: Mother to be,
Abortion is a serious and life threatening event that shouldn’t be taken lightly. There are about 920,000 babies killed each year because of abortion. When you consider an abortion, you’re taking the chance of having many side effects such as breast cancer, intense bleeding, and death. Also, your husband may go through depression and regret just like you. Unlike abortion, adoption ends in giving a life. Also you may still keep in contact with your child and know that she is living a good life. In the United States alone, there are more than 2 million couples waiting to adopt a child. I encourage you to consider giving your baby up for adoption. In the Bible it states in Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.” Do you really want to be thought of as a murderer?
There are methods that can be used to prevent pregnancy, but the safest, healthiest choice is abstinence. Choosing to wait until your mature and responsible enough to have and want a child is important in today’s world. Abstinence is a simple christian choice that you can make and one decision you will not regret.
The baby is part of God’s creation in the womb, as Jeremiah 1:4-5 states: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” The baby is growing in your womb as time passes. At just day 21 the heart begins to beat, and at day 52 the baby starts to move. When the baby has been in the womb for 9-10 weeks, the baby’s eyelids and hands close and their fingernails start to grow. At just 5 months each side of the baby’’s brain has a bout a billion nerve cells. At 8 months, the baby’s skin becomes pink and smooth, and by 9 ½ months the baby is born! The baby is a true gift of God just like you!
I think one of the worst parts about abortion is the selling of the baby’s parts. Some of the baby’s parts can sell between $500-$999. I don’t think we should be selling the parts of a baby. It’s really a disgrace! Another horrible type of abortion is partial birth abortion where the fetus is actually so developed it is grasping its fingers and gets killed by the doctor. They’re alive until the end of the actual abortion which only adds to the cruelty of the while event. The fetus is usually between 20 and 24 week range and is very developed already.
Another part of the abortion that is happening is embryonic stem cell harvesting where cells are taken form an aborted fetus to help and aid disease present now in humans. But it hasn’t healed anyone, and one person should not be able to profit from intentional killing of another.
I hope that my thought have made you more aware of your life and the life of your child. Abortion is not the only or easiest option. If you need to get answers that can change the course of your life, there are several places available to you. The Pregnancy care clinic in Centralia is a place that can help, to reach them please call 1-618-532-3111. You can always talk to a trusted family member or friend, even a local minister would be willing to help you. I am praying for you and Jesus is always with you. Please know that you aren’t alone, and your choice for life for your baby can be the most important decision you will ever make in your life.

Sincerely,
Halle Rueter