OSMOND — Each year the Archdiocese of Omaha sponsors a Pro-Life Student Essay Contest with a specific theme for all students in the Archdiocese. The theme for 2025 was “The Culture of Life.”
Klaire Stech, a student at St. Mary’s Catholic School and the daughter of Jonathan and Traci Stech, competed against all seventh graders in the Archdiocese and did a wonderful job writing a beautiful and intelligent essay while placing third in the seventh grade category. She was awarded a Certificate of Achievement as well as a $20 gift card.
Her teachers commented, “We are all very proud of her accomplishment.”
Klaire shared her essay with the congregation on Sunday, Oct. 5, when she received her certificate. The following is Klaire’s essay: ————— Our Culture of Life
by Klaire Stech Why is the culture of life so important, especially to us Catholics and other Christians? When our mothers choose life for us we get to live that life and become unique individuals and to learn about God so we can get to Heaven.
But we need to find ways to promote the “Culture of Life” and not just accept that death is the answer to a problem.
In Jeremiah 1:5 it says, “I knew you before you were in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” God has always known us and loved us even before we were born which means that we are human in the womb.
So one way I promote the “Culture of Life” to my peers is to invite them to watch an ultrasound and listen to the baby’s heartbeat. We know as Catholics that the baby in the womb is a human and when people abort babies because they think that it is their body and their choice it really isn’t just their body.
Another way we can help young people stop abortion is to give women the proper education about abortion. I can also teach people my age that their body is a temple of God and that they need to understand that abortion is murder.
In the Bible, the sixth commandment states “Thou shalt not kill” and when you abort a human in the womb KLAIRE STECH WRITES WINNING PRO-LIFE ESSAY that is technically murder. Committing murder is a sin, so when we support abortion or we abort a child we are turning away from God and we fall away from Him.
We know they are human and alive because you can see and hear a beating heart. We also need to understand that when you are pregnant you are carrying another soul and another body.
So to prevent abortion I can teach people my age that their body is a temple of God and have them watch and listen to an ultrasound. But I can most importantly teach them that abortion is a sin and that people fall away from God when they support it. That is our culture of life that we all need to learn to love.
Children are unpredictable. You never know what inconsistency they're going to catch you in next. — Franklin P. Jones
