Today, NARAL Pro-Choice America announced the winners of the “Choice Out Loud” short story contest. The contest asked young people between the ages of 18 and 30 to write a story that reflected the complexity of unplanned pregnancies in America today. Approximately 300 stories were submitted from across the country.

“I would like to thank all of the contest participants who took the time to write thoughtful and creative stories about choice,” said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. “We were overwhelmed by the power and the depth of these stories submitted by young people from across the country. The number of stories submitted for our first national essay contest exceed our expectations. This has been a wonderful opportunity to provide a new platform to talk about the complex situations of individuals facing an unintended pregnancy. We look forward to replicating its success in the future. ”

The winners of the contest were:

-Grand Prize awarded to Morgan M., whose story walks through a woman’s internal thought process as she decides to have an abortion.
-First Place Prize awarded to Madeline G., whose story revisits a candid discussion about abortion between mother and daughter.
-People’s Choice Prize awarded to Kai N., whose story features a transgender man’s experience with an unplanned pregnancy.

All three of the winning stories can be read on the Choice Out Loud website: http://www.choiceoutloud.org/writing-contest/.

The stories were evaluated by a panel of judges selected for their insights into the unique perspective of young Americans. The judges reviewed the stories on relevance to the contest prompt, creativity and overall quality.

About the judges:

Laci Green runs Sex+ , a sex-positive education project consisting of a biweekly video series, a weekly live show, daily blogging, university lectures, and a peer education network. Learn more at http://www.youtube.com/lacigreen.

Maureen Johnson is a New York Times bestselling author whose novels  include The Name of the Star, Suite Scarlett, Scarlett Fever, Girl At Sea, The Key To The Golden Firebird, and 13 Little Blue Envelopes. Learn more at http://www.maureenjohnsonbooks.com.

Rinku Sen is the president and executive director of Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation and the publisher of Colorlines.com. Learn more at http://colorlines.com.

To speak with a NARAL Pro-Choice America spokesperson, please contact Sarah La Due at 415-890-1020 or SLaDue@ProChoiceAmerica.org.

Media Contact
Sarah La Due
SLaDue@ProChoiceAmerica.org
415-890-1020