Ohio ballot information meetings kicked off last week with events at Columbus St. Catharine, Circleville St. Joseph, Marion St. Mary and Cardington Sacred Hearts churches.
The meetings are a collaborative effort among Greater Columbus Right to Life, the diocesan Office for Social Concerns and the Catholic Medical Association of Central Ohio. Those organizations are members of a statewide coalition formed to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy in the Buckeye state.
The meetings were the first in a series scheduled in the coming months throughout the diocese. The purpose is to provide insight into social teaching and political action, explain the ballot initiative process, outline existing Ohio law, explain what the proposed amendment would do and invite the community to help defeat it at the ballot box in November.
Mark Huddy, director for Catholic Charities and Social Concerns in the diocese,said during the meeting at St. Catharine the bishops of the state, through the Catholic Conference of Ohio, have asked the faithful to unite in prayer, fasting and action to uphold the dignity of human life and to defeat the proposed amendment.
Jerry Freewalt, director of the diocesan Office for Social Concerns, provided background on the ballot process: A coalition of abortion rights advocates is seeking to gather the signatures of about 415,000 Ohio voters in at least 44 counties by July 5. If they are successful, it will trigger placing the proposed amendment on the ballot in November.
Dr. Michael Parker, immediate past national president of the Catholic Medical Association and a practicing obstetrician and gynecologist in central Ohio, offered background on state law. He said he chooses to practice medicine in a life-affirming way and that Ohio’s existing law allows him to care for a woman who is experiencing an ectopic pregnancy, a miscarriage or even a medical emergency that means her pregnancy cannot continue. He also shared that if the proposed amendment is adopted, it would push doctors like him out of practice in Ohio because they would no longer be able to exercise their conscience rights to refuse to perform an abortion.
In the final part of the program, Beth Vanderkooi, executive director of Greater Columbus Right to Life, called the proposed amendment a dangerous and extreme proposal being pushed by groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union. If it is adopted, she said, Ohioans will face abortion through all nine months of pregnancy; an elimination of parental notification and consent before their children undergo life-altering procedures such as abortion, hormone therapy or gender-conforming surgery; and would see the repeal of common-sense provisions protecting the health and safety of women and unborn children.
Before concluding, participants were walked through a program that outlines how to discuss the issue with friends and family and how to help defeat the ballot initiative. Suggestions included prayer and fasting, volunteering and donating.
“This program was excellent,” one attendee said. “I had heard how extreme the amendment was and I’d seen the ads, but I have also seen some people say it is no big deal. Now I understand just how serious this is and why we need to get involved.”
Tom, a parishioner at St. Catharine, said, “I had a hard time falling asleep (after this talk). We have to defeat this.”
Similar informational programs are scheduled in the next few weeks, as well as a few still being finalized. Visit gcrtl.org/stop for resources, events and more information.