Editor's note. The following is from Tennessee RTL, celebrating the victory of a native son.

Clay Smith

Tennessee's winner of the 11th annual Pro-Life Oratory Contest for High School Students has also won the national contest held June 26 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Clay Smith, son of Tim and Kimberley Smith, won the opportunity to represent Tennessee during state finals held earlier this year at Aquinas College in Nashville. There, Clay's speech was awarded first place and an expense paid trip to the national finals held annually in conjunction with the National Right to Life convention.

"Every year it's difficult to choose a winner from among the many excellent speeches given by pro-life students," said Brian Best, coordinator of the annual Tennessee contest. "Our judges were very impressed with Clay's presentation and felt that he would represent our state very well. As it turns out, they were right," Best said.

Smith's speech highlighted basic facts regarding the humanity of preborn children, the nature of abortion in America and adoption as a practical and positive alternative. Clay is a 2010 graduate of David Lipscomb High School in Nashville and will be a freshman this fall at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.

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