The dust has settled on the November election and the results were clear: Issue 1 won with nearly 57% of the vote.
This electoral win is significant politically for several reasons. It represents the largest political victory of abortion at the ballot since the Dobbs decision -- and possibly ever -- and it will usher in like-minded proposals across the country. There are already two states with amendments on the 2024 ballot and 11 other states with likely amendments. Nationally, Democrats have indicated that they will be pushing as many amendments as they can, as they see abortion as a winning political strategy.
A lot of people will have opinions, but here are a few things that I think we should look to for insight.
Church involvement: Faith communities, especially the Catholic Conference of Ohio and Bishop Earl Fernandes, were tremendous partners in the campaign. This is important because Catholics have become one of the last bellwethers in Ohio politics.
While the bishops made it clear that abortion is a moral issue rather than a political one, abortion has broad influence on politics – and vice versa. Limited polling information is available but suggests that Catholic support for Issue 1 was consistently around 50%. While this may tempt pro-lifers to excuse the difference as those who regularly attend Mass and those who identify more as culturally Catholic, we shouldn’t. Many saw support for Issue 1 in our pews and families. Opposition to Issue 1 was not substantially higher in evangelical churches.
Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo was recently chosen as chairman-elect of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. He is a strong and consistent voice for the unborn, and I pray this tragic loss informs his leadership in that role; I think it will.
Misinformation: Issue 1 was carefully crafted to use intentionally broad legalese and to take advantage of politically popular messaging. Specific examples of this include the definition of “life and health” of the mother and inclusion of the rights to miscarriage care, continuing one’s own pregnancy, and contraception. Numerous TV ads took advantage of this to insinuate that without Issue 1 women experiencing miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies or other medical emergencies would suffer and die. This was nonsense, but the narrative went virtually unchecked by traditional media and voters responded.
Spending disparity: Pro-lifers were outspent. Final campaign finance figures are not yet available, but overall, the pro-Issue 1 side is estimated to have spent about $66 million and the anti-Issue 1 side about $30 million.
I predicted early on that the pro-life side would need $50 million-60 million to stay competitive in this race, which ultimately was spot-on. I also predicted that Greater Columbus Right to Life alone would need volunteers to make 100,000 voter contacts, and that effort would need to be duplicated across the state. We had an amazing group of volunteers and donors who did heroic work in central Ohio and across the state, but we didn’t make it. With such a significant spending disparity, we needed to have more one-on-one discussions.
Public opinion and a referendum on the Heartbeat Bill: In 2019, Lawmakers passed legislation protecting babies with detectable heartbeats from abortion at about six weeks’ gestation. The law contained no exceptions for rape and incest (it did contain exceptions for medical emergencies). The law was in effect for 82 days before being held up in a legal challenge. Consistent opinion polls have placed public support for heartbeat-style laws at between 40%-45%. Our opponents knew this, and they worked to take political advantage, an effort made easier by their misleading language and ability to outspend us. They made Issue 1 a referendum on the Heartbeat Bill and Personhood proposals.
Our rebuttal -- that Issue 1 would constitutionally affirm abortion through all nine months -- just couldn’t rise above their well-funded reading and manipulation of public sentiment. Ultimately, the vote mirrored polled sentiment for the Heartbeat Bill, which is probably not a coincidence.
What’s next? Initiated constitutional amendments are effective 30 days after the election, so Ohio’s amendment will take effect Dec. 7 – the day before the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
There are (roughly) three avenues of how the new amendment could become enforced: Abortion supporters could directly challenge existing laws and regulations in court, asserting that they are unconstitutional; they could simply assert the right and act; and the legislature could act to repeal existing laws they think are in conflict. While several Democratic lawmakers have indicated they will introduce legislation to do the latter, it is unlikely any such effort will be successful given the pro-life majority in Ohio’s General Assembly.
Pro-life lawmakers have also signaled they intend to move forward with their own efforts. Everything from defending existing laws to proposing partial or total repeal of the constitutional amendment in a future election is on the table. From the pro-life side, we will be proposing several immediate changes to Ohio’s law that we think will protect women and unborn children in the short term.
As for our response as the pro-life faithful, it needs to be multi-fronted, nimble and rapidly evolving. The first thing that we are going to do is ask you to continue in prayer and action. One immediate need that we have is to boost our sidewalk counseling and prayer partner program. We anticipate that our Pregnancy Help Centers will continue to be a necessary part of Ohio’s frontline response. It is a great time to reinvigorate your parish respect life program and update your Walking with Moms in Need plan. We’ve ordered thousands of replacement “slips” for yard signs, which we will make available at no cost for those who want to continue to show their opposition to Issue 1. Make no mistake, though – we have a lot of work to do.
I have spent time in prayer and reflecting what we need to prioritize to protect the dignity of human life from this all-out assault. Everything is on the table – from focusing on working with churches and volunteers to grow our outreach program, to working on legislation, and litigation. We will be using our resources to impact our community in the best way that we can.
Our hearts are broken, but our resolve is firm. Once Ohioans see how extreme and out-of-touch Issue 1 really is, they will reject both its language and its premise. In the interim, the pro-life movement in central Ohio will continue to do what it does best -- work to change hearts and minds and save lives while directly confronting the cruel and barbaric political power wielded by those who advocate for the poisoning, dismemberment and direct euthanasia of unborn human persons.
In the last 10 years, central Ohio reduced the number of abortions happening here by nearly half. We did that without substantial changes to policy or the laws, and we can do it again.
Every day, the pro-life movement invites women who are abortion-minded or vulnerable to rise above the fear and the anger and the panic of their current circumstances to remember that God has a plan for their life and for the life of their unborn child. We acknowledge that it will not be easy, but it will be worth it. Now is time for us to respond with the same courage and faith. We must affirm that God has a plan for Ohio, even with this huge setback. Do not lose hope, and do not stop fighting for life.
