Ohio March for Life attracts crowd from all parts of state

A crowd estimated at 1,500 people and representing every Catholic diocese in Ohio filled the west lawn of the Statehouse for the inaugural Ohio Rally and March for Life on Wednesday, March 5. They heard from leaders of the national March for Life education fund and of several of the state’s largest pro-life organizations, with the hourlong program followed by a march downtown.

Jeanne Mancini of the Washington-based March for Life organization said the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 24 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, which held that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, was in large measure the result of “events like this where you are publicly witnessing to the dignity of the unborn person.”

“Our work is not over, but is in a new, perhaps more important phase,” she said, then asked the audience “Will you love the unborn heroically? Do you think abortion is the human rights issue of our day? Will you march for the day when abortion is unthinkable in Ohio and the United States?”

She also invited the crowd to the 50^th March for Life in Washington on Jan. 22. That day marks the 50^th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling, which the Dobbs decision overturned.

“Ohio is a pro-life state,” said Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue, the state’s largest Christian public policy organization. “From the (Ohio Legislature’s) passage of the Heartbeat Bill (which prohibits most abortions after the first detectable fetal heartbeat), to the pregnancy centers throughout our 88 counties, Ohio has made protecting unborn children and their mothers a priority.”

“Passing legislation is easy. Now we have to transform the way we view sex and the family and each other,” he said. “We have to purge society of ideas such as that kids are a burden and that women are objects to be used and abused,”

Peter Range, executive director of Ohio Right to Life, said his organization would be concentrating this year on “what” and “how” issues. The “what” is legislative passage of the Human Life Protection Act, which would ban all abortions in Ohio. 

The “how” involves three areas: being rooted and grounded in love for everyone in the abortion process, including abortion doctors and nurses; suffering with parents in need who have decided to choose life; and proclaiming the dignity of the human person and that everyone is made in God’s image and likeness.

“I’m here to tell you that each one of you has a mission and a purpose in life and that you will fulfill it,” he said. “Every preborn also has a mission and purpose and our mission is to help them fulfill it.”

The day of the event was sunny and mild, a marked contrast from the weather during the Roe Remembrance programs that have taken place at the Statehouse every January on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. Margie Christie, president of the Right to Life Action Coalition of Ohio, noted that at the beginning of her talk. 

“I’d much rather march in October than January,” she said. Christie said she’s often asked the question “Why do you march?” and her response is “Every life, born or unborn, has a God-given right to grow and live out their destiny. Motherhood and fatherhood are the most important roles anyone can play. If we don’t speak up for moms and dads, who will?”

She urged the audience to “keep on marching, speaking out, buying diapers, protesting and waving signs.”

Ruth Cabrera-Henriquez, the mother of two boys, said she was ready to abort her first child after a doctor recommended an abortion because of complications in the womb. But she went to another doctor for a second opinion and he referred her to a pregnancy help center for an ultrasound. “When I saw my baby in the ultrasound, I knew I couldn’t go through with the abortion,” she said. “I can’t imagine my life without both of my children.”

Her first child, Victor, appeared with her on the rally stage and said, “I’m happy the pregnancy center helped Mommy. I love my life.”

Also speaking were Alveda King, daughter of civil rights activist A.D. King and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Ohio Rep. Jena Powell, R-Arcanum. The invocation was delivered by Bishop David Bonnar of the Diocese of Youngstown and the closing prayer by Pastor David Forbes of the Columbus Christian Center.

Entertainment before the rally was provided by a praise and worship band from the Damascus Catholic Mission Campus. Mary Sara Menkhaus of Damascus sang the national anthem and children from Tree of Life Christian School in Columbus led the Pledge of Allegiance.

The rally was preceded by a Mass at Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral, with Bishop Bonnar as homilist. A Respect Life Latin Mass was celebrated after the rally at Columbus St. Leo the Great Oratory. Columbus Bishop Earl Fernandes was out of town and the state’s other bishops were unable to be at the cathedral because of previously scheduled events.

Bishop Bonnar’s homily contained frequent references to St. Joseph and his title “defender of life,” and to St. Paul, who wrote in the day’s first Scripture reading about his charge to preach the gospel to the uncircumcised and to be “mindful of the poor.”

“Like St. Joseph, we are called to be a ministry of presence to those whose life is threatened or diminished. And like St. Paul, we are bound to be mindful of the poor among us, especially those who have no voice, chance, or enough resources. But we can do none of this work alone, for we are always dependent on God to lead us on the journey of life,” he said. 

“Despite the sharp and painful differences that divide us not just on the issues of life but so much more, if we are truly proponents and advocates of life, and if we seek to be like St. Joseph and St. Paul, we cannot judge or disregard the life of those who think differently than us. We cannot dismiss the fact that God created them too. They are life, too,” Bishop Bonnar said.  

“At the same time, we must never hesitate to take these individuals and the differences that are ours to prayer, asking the Father to ‘lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.’ And we must never stop beholding the example and intercession of our universal patron, St. Joseph, who welcomed, cherished and safeguarded life.”