JEFFERSON CITY — Two Osage County students will have the opportunity to take the field at Busch Stadium on Saturday, July 25, after being named Grand Prize winners in the Vitae Foundation’s Voices for Life Challenge.

Kendal Perry, a seventh-grader at Holy Family Catholic School in Freeburg, earned the grand prize in the essay division for her entry, “The Clinical Echo: Results, Regrets, and Redemptions of Abortion.”

Jade Miller, an eighth-grader at St. George Catholic School in Linn, won the radio ad division with a 30-second script encouraging women facing an unexpected pregnancy to choose life.

Both students will throw out ceremonial first pitches during Osage County Night at the Ballpark before the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Cincinnati Reds. Grand prize winners will also receive an autographed baseball from the pitcher who catches their ceremonial pitch and a professional souvenir photograph from the Cardinals.

Now in its 15th consecutive year, the Voices for Life Challenge provides Osage County students in grades 7-12 an opportunity to express why they believe human life has value. This year’s contest drew 93 essay and radio ad submissions.

“It’s incredibly encouraging to see young people courageously step forward to stand up for life, regardless of the circumstances,” said Vitae Foundation Senior Marketing Director Stacey Kromer. “If we’re going to change the culture, empowering people of all ages to talk about the abortion issue is paramount.”

Perry’s winning essay reads as follows: “It’s been three weeks since I aborted the baby. I haven’t been able to eat or sleep, and I don’t have the energy to get out of bed in the mornings. I carry the memory- the doctor’s voice, the clinical smell of the surgery room- with me consistently. I would have taken pills, but I didn’t trust the medication would work to rid me of the unplanned pregnancy. Whenever I see a mother with her newborn, I realize, I killed my baby. Abortion has evolved throughout the ages, changing from extreme exercise to at-home pills. “Having an abortion will make you carry an unimaginable guilt. There are so many other choices that don’t lead to taking a life. Abortion is an atrocious act and should be illegal.

“Have you ever thought about the origin of abortion? According to the Guttmacher Institute, abortion first appeared in the writings of hypocrites in Ancient Greece during 460-370 BCE. They mentioned techniques like making women engage in intense activities, like jumping. Abortion then evolved to herbal methods, afterward becoming illegal in the United States of America in 1910. Now, abortion is banned in some states or illegal with rare exceptions. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) says that there have been a record of 37 abortions in Missouri since 2023. Yet, KFF also states that around 3,029 Missouri residents have gone out of state to have an abortion. According to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, there are only three active abortion clinics in Missouri as of 2026. “Missouri had 3 clinics compared to zero in March 2024.” (Guttmacher Institute). This means that the state of Missouri opened three abortion clinics after March 2024, and they remain open to date.

“I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a direct war, a direct killing-direct murder by the mother herself” (Saint Teresa of Calcutta). Abortion is taking a life. It’s murder. It goes against the fifth commandment: “You shall not kill.” Abortion also goes against the seventh commandment: “You shall not steal.” Though most people don’t view it as this, abortion is also stealing a child’s chance at life. Do you want to be responsible for taking an unborn child’s potential life? Abortion can also have negative repercussions on the mother. Many women are naive to the complications of abortion. According to the National Library of Medicine, it can cause a mother to develop a higher risk of infertility, a risk of breast cancer, and diminish her mental well-being.

“Abortion comes with varieties of adverse effects, making it easier to choose another option. You could give the child up for adoption after birth. The baby could go to a family that is unable to produce children or even to a woman who dreams of being a mother, yet doesn’t have a spouse. You could place the child in foster care until you are ready to take responsibility for the youth or when you have achieved the financial stability for supporting a child. You could take responsibility for the child. Though you might not feel ready, you most likely are. God would only bless you with the responsibility of a child if He knew you were ready. Once you spend time with the child subsequent to the birth, you may realize just how blessed you are to be able to take care of a child.

“Abortion is diabolical and needs to be illegal. Abortion is not a new development, and it also isn’t morally correct. There are many other pro-life options to go about an unexpected pregnancy. People need to think long and hard before acting on this subject. We must fully outlaw abortion to give every unborn child a chance at life. The next time abortion comes up during voting, Christians all across the United States of America should work together to make abortion fully illegal. By doing this, we can eliminate the taking of the lives of the unborn before they even have a chance at a single breath.”

Miller won for her radio ad: “What would you do if you were faced with an unexpected pregnancy? In our world today, some women may face unexpected pregnancies that may cause them stress or severe criticism. Women in our lives today are often told they won’t be successful or that they won’t be able to do it. It is time we start encouraging women to be brave and to make the right choice. For more information, visit talkprolife.org. That’s talkprolife.org.”

The principals and teachers of the grand prize winners also will be recognized. Fatima HS Principal Somer Hinshaw and teacher Jeanette Schroeder, along with St. George Catholic Principal Lisa Grellner and teacher Beth Parrish, will receive tickets to a luxury suite. St. Joseph Catholic teacher Megan Yeager, whose classes submitted the most entries, will also receive suite tickets.

Students with the winning entries in their class also received four box-seat tickets to the Cardinals game: Linn R-II seventh-grader Kailey Peter, sophomore Ruby Herndon and senior Madison Wilson; Fatima sophomore Isabella Hoffman and senior Azlyn Luebbert; Holy Family seventh-grader Kendal Perry and eighth-grader Addison Kampeter; Sacred Heart seventh-grader Sean Luebbert and eighth-grader Alexander Frank; St. George seventh-grader Kynlee Smith and eighth-grader Jade Miller; and St. Joseph seventh-grader Landon Weber and eighth-grader Alayna Royston.

Each participating student was entered into a drawing to win a $250 voucher, awarded by Vitae Foundation, to be used for an electronic device to assist with their education. This year’s winner was Miles Monroe, a seventh-grader at St. George Catholic School. Teachers of participating classes were entered into a similar drawing for a $100 gift card provided by Vitae Foundation. This year’s winner was Beth Linnenbrink of Sacred Heart Catholic School in Rich Fountain.

The contest was made possible through a grant from the Alphonse J. Schwartze Community Foundation, which has supported Vitae Foundation’s outreach for 19 years. Vitae Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that conducts research on life issues and applies those findings to develop messaging strategies that inspire cultural change and build a future where abortion is unthinkable.

Vitae’s presence in the mid-Missouri media market includes Google Ads, website development, and search engine optimization. Its advertisements run on 1400 AM KFRU, 94.3 FM KATI, all St. Louis Cardinals Radio Network stations, and during football games on the Missouri Tiger Radio Network.