Life is under aggressive assault in Ohio.
Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union are working overtime to make abortion legal through all nine months of pregnancy as well as end parental notification and consent requirements that protect minors from undergoing an abortion or a sex change without parental knowledge or involvement.
If voters in Ohio pass Issue 1 on Nov. 7, abortion will be legal up to the moment of birth, a parent’s right to know if their underage child is considering an abortion or sex change operation will be eliminated and basic health and safety standards for women will be banned.
The proposed state constitutional amendment purposely fails to use the word “woman” and instead uses the word “individual.” It makes no mention of adults vs. minors; it would cut parents out of some of the most defining decisions of their children’s lives and allow abusers to take a minor female to get an abortion, no questions asked.
It is imperative that every Catholic in the state votes “no.” No Catholic in good conscience can turn a blind eye to Nov. 7. If Ohio Catholics vote “yes,” and Issue 1 passes, we will be culpable for allowing this diabolical evil in our state.
Catholics have a duty and an obligation to stand for life. If we believe the most basic tenets of our faith, we can’t in good conscience stand on the sidelines.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) reminds us that “human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” (CCC 2270)
It’s time for the Catholic Church to show up. The pro-abortion crowd shows up. The crowd that wants to legalize gender mutilation surgeries for minors without parental knowledge or consent shows up.
And guess what? They show up unapologetically. They are proud to proclaim from the rooftops that they are showing up to make abortion in Ohio legal up to birth, past the current limit of 22 weeks.
They unapologetically stand for the mutilation of children. They are so unabashed in their beliefs that they think parents have no right to know if their underage daughters undergo a surgery to remove their breasts and attach male genitalia to their body.
The Church is unequivocally clear in its stance on abortion. To sit out Nov. 7 would say that Catholics don’t believe what our faith professes. If we look the other way when we have the chance to ensure that Ohio does not enshrine abortion as a state constitutional right, we aren’t living as a Catholic.
If we stay home, we are saying that whatever we are doing that day is infinitely more important than supporting the most basic tenet of our faith – that human life must be respected and protected from its earliest stages until death.
It’s high time for Catholics to unapologetically show up. If we don’t show up, or are too ashamed to show up, or too busy to show up, why do we even dare to call ourselves Catholic? What is the difference then between the Church and the world?
Rachel del Guidice is communication director for Ohio Right to Life.
