Last week, Greater Columbus Right to Life shared heartbreaking news. On Wednesday, Sept. 14, a Hamilton County Common Pleas judge found that Ohio’s Constitution might be interpreted as protecting abortion under the guise of medical freedom and non-discrimination of women. Consequently, he issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) halting enforcement of Ohio’s heartbeat law and returning Ohio to its pre-Dobbs framework of generally prohibiting abortion after 20-21 weeks.
The TRO grants an injunction against Ohio’s fetal heartbeat law of at least two weeks. It will mean that hundreds, and possibly thousands, of babies’ hearts will be stopped in Ohio in the coming weeks.
The response was immediate – with abortion advocates and most members of the media scrambling to declare a victory on behalf of Ohio’s women. A pro-abortion gubernatorial candidate released a campaign ad touting that all Ohio women want is to be able to have a say in their own lives. Meanwhile, California’s governor bought billboards inviting Ohio women to come to California for abortions. Abortion funders and providers, enriched by millions of dollars in tax funding from municipalities in the past few weeks, took a victory lap.
By contrast, pro-life voices decried the overt forum-shopping, legal contortion, and judicial activism involved. We’ve pointed out that this is a growing trend, that the former de facto abortion legal counsel is now a Hamilton County Judge, and that Hamilton County has become the go-to venue for abortion advocates in case after case over the past few years. We’ve looked at the lengthy list of attorneys signed onto this case – dozens of attorneys representing firms located in high-rise buildings in big cities, and we watched the legal hearing unfold with an acute sense that this was not an unbiased judge.
If we are being honest, the only surprise in this has been that it took 2 1/2 months to happen. Undoubtedly, there are both legal and political maneuverings at play, and we anticipated that would unfold. To be sure, there is very little about this legal process that could not have happened in June or early July, unless the intention was not to protect the alleged rights of women but to influence the November elections.
There are many ideas and opinions of what it takes to do the work of building the Kingdom of God and faithfully performing pro-life work. At Greater Columbus Right to Life, we often fall back on the instructions in Matthew 10, “I send you out as sheep among the wolves, so be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (I took some linguistic liberty there). Yes, the world is hostile to our message, and it is hostile in ways that are both intentional (like timing litigation to influence and election for an outcome benefiting the evil of abortion) and unintentional (many are occupied with the headlines of the day, the economy and families are suffering, general business, exhaustion). This is nothing new. The world has often been hostile to the Gospel and the Gospel of Life.
While none of this is especially new or novel, it is nonetheless important. Very important. Culture shapes law, but laws change culture. So I invite you not to be distracted or distressed or complacent in the weeks or months to come. Instead, let’s be wise and winsome, engaged, courageous and virtuous. There is no time like the present time, and the coming weeks will highlight many opportunities from many groups – including Greater Columbus Right to Life. Consider this your invitation.
Beth Vanderkooi is the executive director of Greater Columbus Right to Life.
