Cincinnati Archbishop Dennis Schnurr is urging all Catholic voters in Ohio to reject the abortions up to birth amendment that will appear on the November ballot. It would make killing babies in abortions a state constitutional right.
The prelate said in a letter posted to the archdiocesan website that the proposed amendment, titled the “Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety,” would legalize the right to “take the lives of innocent children in the womb while harming women and families in the process.”
The amendment, if passed, would dictate that Ohio “shall not, directly or indirectly, burden, penalize, prohibit, interfere with, or discriminate against” a woman’s attempt to get an abortion.
Under the amendment, lawmakers could prohibit abortion “after fetal viability,” or when a child could survive outside its mother’s uterus, generally at around 24 weeks of pregnancy. The state would be prohibited from doing so, however, in cases where a doctor determined that an abortion was necessary to protect the mother’s “life or health.”
Since anything could be defined as a health reason, that effectively allows abortions up to birth for any reason.
Schnurr in his letter said the proposal is an “extraordinary and dangerous attempt to radically reshape Ohio through a constitutional amendment that does nothing to aid women or promote life.”
Follow LifeNews on the MeWe social media network for the latest pro-life news free from Facebook’s censorship!
“As Catholics, we are morally obliged to uphold the dignity of life of all vulnerable humans — immigrants, the poor, preborn children,” Schnurr wrote. “We cannot remain silent on a direct ballot question like the one in November.”
The archbishop urged Catholics to pray for the amendment’s defeat, to raise awareness of the measure, and to vote against the initiative in the Nov. 7 general election.
Meanwhile, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine urged voters in his state to reject the November ballot measure that would make killing babies a state constitutional right up to birth.
“Now that this constitutional amendment is on the ballot, we need to focus on that,” he said after the battle over Issue 1 to protect the constitution.
DeWine called the proposed abortion amendment ‘radical” and “not where most Ohioans are on abortion.”
Created Equal, which opposes abortion, applauded DeWine’s comments in an email to LifeNews.
“As Ohio’s top elected official, we are pleased that Gov DeWine is weighing in on the topic of the abortion amendment. Most Ohioans share His call for civility and a common-sense approach to the abortion issue, not a one size fits all extreme amendment to the Ohio Constitution that leaves no room for future debate and negotiation,” the pro-life group said.
Appearing on the ballot in November, the extreme abortion would make killing babies in abortions a constitutional right in the state. That would allow abortions up to birth, forcing taxpayers to fund abortions and prohibit any limits whatsoever on abortions, including parental consent, informed consent or holding abortion businesses accountable.
In an email to pro-life voters, SBA Pro-Life president Marjorie Dannenfelser urged pro-life advocates to fight hard to stop the amendment.
“Yesterday’s election results in Ohio prove exactly why we as a movement must remain vigilant. We are up against pro-abortion dark money, well-funded by a Swiss Billionaire,” she said. “Big abortion saturated the airwaves with deceptive ads. They confused voters every step of the way. SBA partner org Protect Women Ohio Action, alongside our allies in Ohio, did everything in their power to win yesterday, but we were outspent. That does not mean we are giving up.”
Follow LifeNews on the MeWe social media network for the latest pro-life news free from Facebook’s censorship!
“Abortion on demand is now closer to being permanently enshrined in the Ohio state Constitution. The right of parents to know whether their minor daughter is going to have an abortion is in danger. Ohio teeters on the edge of owning some of the most extreme pro-abortion laws in the country. Because of yesterday’s vote, the ACLU and its allies are going to have an easier time promoting their extreme pro-abortion agenda in the state,” she explained.
Dannenfelser concluded: “As a result, we are facing an uphill battle, but we are not backing down and we are not giving up. We need you to protect women, young girls, and the unborn in Ohio.”
Frank Pavone of Priests for Life is also looking ahead to the next battle and not deterred by Tuesday’s results.
“Neither the people of Ohio nor of America want unlimited abortion. The battle to prevent it in Ohio now intensifies,” he told LifeNews.
“Our movement must make every one of these state battles a national battle, more than we have up to now. Every group in every part of the country must be involved,” he said. “If abortion supporters, want unlimited abortion, why don’t they introduce a bill? It is because they are afraid of the lawmaking process, in which real debate would occur and abortion and its harm would be exposed. Instead, they bypass the lawmaking process by forcing fake rights into constitutions through a process which is no more than soundbite voting.”
Pavone added: “But with renewed vigor starting today, we will challenge them, we will challenge America, and we will protect Ohio in November.”
“Out-of-state dark money special interest groups, including a Swiss billionaire, just spent millions of dollars in Ohio to deceive voters into not passing Issue 1.” said Peter Range, Ohio Right to Life’s Chief Executive Officer.
Range says the organization’s mission remains unchanged. “Nonetheless, this result will not deter us from continuing to fight the ACLU’s extreme agenda this November, which seeks to allow abortion up until birth and take away parents’ rights to protect their child from being pressured into an abortion or even a sex-change operation.”
“We in the pro-life movement have the privilege of living to fight another day,” he added. “Thus, today, we rise to honor God, and the dignity of all human life, by continuing the fight to defend the innocent.”
Big Abortion is funding the pro-abortion Amendment this Fall.
Few Ohioans are putting their money behind the effort. According to the Examiner, Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom raised about $8.5 million so far this year for its pro-abortion campaign, and nearly three quarters of the money came from donors in Washington, D.C., New York, Oklahoma and other states.
Groups involved in the pro-abortion effort include Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity (U.R.G.E.).
A second pro-abortion group, Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, raised $1.16 million, and most of its money came from Ohio donors, the report found based on campaign records.
Meanwhile, pro-life Protect Women Ohio has raised $9.74 million so far this year to keep protections for children in place, including $6.14 from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and $900,000 from the state Catholic dioceses, according to the report.
Ohio, a swing state, has been trying to protect unborn babies from abortion for years. Its heartbeat law bans abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable, about six weeks of pregnancy, and was in effect for a little while last year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
However, pro-abortion groups sued, and a state judge temporarily blocked enforcement of the law. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is appealing.
The pro-life law has the potential to save tens of thousands of babies’ lives. From June to August while the law was in effect, abortions dropped 65 percent in Ohio, representing about 2,470 unborn babies’ lives, according to a recent study, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
