SOUTHGATE ─ Five high school students from the Downriver area competed for cash prizes in the annual High School Pro-Life Oratory Contest held at the Southgate Library on Saturday morning, April 28.
It was part of the statewide contest sponsored by Right to Life of Michigan. The contest was co-sponsored locally by four affiliates of Right To Life Michigan; the Dearborn area, Central Wayne County, Southern Downriver and Upper Downriver.
Four of the competing students were from Gabriel Richard High School in Riverview, with the fifth coming from Summit Academy North in Romulus.
Two of the speeches were on the topic of abortion, while the other three spoke about euthanasia, all from a pro-life perspective. All five original speeches of five to seven minutes in length.
The judges included Michigan State Representative Jamie Thompson, businessman and Southgate City Councilman Greg Kowalsky, former teacher Pam Munroe, and nurse and church minister Amy Rennie, RN.
The first-place winner was Zoe Loveday, a senior at Gabriel Richard High School, with her speech on the topic of euthanasia. Loveday started with the definition “Euthanasia is a process in which a doctor may legally administer life-ceasing medication to a patient with chronic illness.” She continued with her assertion that “Euthanasia should be prohibited because it is clearly neglectful, impulsive, and immoral. A physician's objective should be to care and aid the sick.” And then she asked, “In what way is euthanasia a form of care?” She continued with examples including a misdiagnosis that encouraged a patient to choose assisted suicide or euthanasia and included her own bout with depression and temptation to suicide rather than treatment.
As the winner, Loveday will advance to the state contest to be held at the end of May in Lansing with local area winners from around the state. She will also deliver her speech at the April 30 Right to Life Pastors Luncheon and at the Focus on Life Annual Dinner to be held Sept. 18 at the Grecian Center in Southgate.
Second-place winner, Ethan Cunningham, a sophomore from Gabriel Richard High School, also spoke on euthanasia. He pointed out that, “Euthanasia can also be used for control. The government could easily put pressure on physicians to administer euthanasia for a multitude of reasons, such as population control or profit. Laws regarding euthanasia can be unstable and could be used to discriminate against people. There really is no consistent way to manage euthanasia. People who are terminally ill could be seen as less important to society. Euthanasia under no circumstances is justified.” He continued with an example where “the state of Oregon denied coverage for the potentially life-saving drug (to a cancer patient), but was willing to cover the cost of euthanasia.”
In third place was Tyreeq Boyd, a junior from Summit Academy North, who spoke in support of the Right to Life movement because “my sister and I are the lives spared by a woman pressured to abortion. I am grateful my mother chose life, and she did so because of her strong faith, all glory to God. I believe that all women should have the right to know that there is hope outside of abortion.” He pointed out that “societal norms constantly change.” Therefore “I will base my life on the word of God. It never changes, and it is constantly radiating hope, and love.”
Honorable mention was given to Matthew Cole, a junior from Gabriel Richard. He recommended setting aside politics, religion and personal beliefs, embracing life and the dignity and compassion of the human person. He spoke against abortion from the perspective of science: life begins at conception; as well as the psychologically detrimental effects of abortion on women and society as a whole, including the disruption of birth rates and age distributions of the population.
Another honorable mention was awarded to Gabriel Richard senior Brianna Kososki. She pointed out the changing interpretations of laws regarding euthanasia and the abuses that have taken place in European countries and that are creeping into ours. She pointed out that “Not only is euthanasia wrong according to basic Christian and societal principles based on morality, it is also entirely incompatible with health care as it denies the physician's role as a healer.”
Story submitted by Upper Downriver Right to Life
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