Ohio’s failure to stop the abortion constitutional amendment in the Nov. 7 election calls for an examination of Catholic conscience.
The Buckeye State joined the likes of Michigan, Illinois, California and New York that have legalized taking the life of an unborn child in a mother’s womb during all nine months of pregnancy.
The “Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety Amendment” modifies Article I of the Ohio Constitution to guarantee that “(e)very individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage care and abortion.”
The language of the amendment directs the state not to “burden, penalize, prohibit, interfere with, or discriminate against” the “right” to kill a preborn child. Access to snuffing out children in the womb through all nine months of pregnancy will lead to more pain-inducing late-term abortions.
While our faith teaches us to always have hope even in the worst circumstances and to think positively that the Lord will take care of our needs, a reality check is in order.
As Catholics reflect on the disastrous outcome of the election that will lead to thousands of lives lost to abortion, all of us must evaluate what went wrong and what we can do now to protect the most vulnerable among us after this amendment passed by a sizable margin.
We also should pray for those who have endangered their souls in the eyes of the Lord through having abortions, performing them as a physician or even for voting for the amendment.
Analysts point to the major funding advantage the abortion advocates had, thanks to deep-pocketed interest groups from out of state, over the pro-life movement in the campaign. Other pundits say the pro-life messaging was unclear to voters who might have been on the fence and, as a result, they were not moved to vote for life in the midst of their uncertainty.
Some exit polls indicated that the turnout among conservatives, who tend to support issues regarding faith and morals, was down from previous elections and that liberals showed up to vote in greater numbers than they had in years.
Voters in rural counties typically support pro-life issues and candidates, but there aren’t enough of them to override the estimated 70% of urbanites who favored the amendment.
Surprisingly, a CNN exit poll showed that 24% of White, born-again evangelical Christians voted in favor of the amendment. Estimates put the Catholic vote at about a 50-50 yes-no split.
If those numbers prove to be accurate, then Catholics need to look at what they did or didn’t do to lose this contentious battle.
Quite honestly, Catholics have no one to blame but themselves.
Catholics should be united on this issue, and they are anything but in agreement on protecting the unborn.
The fractures are evident in many places.
Commuters into downtown Columbus traveling on one of the busier streets couldn’t help but notice a large digital billboard ad from “Catholics for Choice” supporting the “right” to abortion and claiming that a majority of Catholics back “choice.”
Abortion supporters cleverly used words such as “choice,” “rights,” “women’s health care” and “bodily autonomy” as a distraction from the grim reality of what abortion really is – killing an unborn child in a mother’s womb.
You’ve probably noticed in news articles that reporters write “pro-choice,” according to the Associated Press Stylebook that serves as a copyediting guide for publications, but “pro-life” is never used unless it’s part of a quote. Instead, the secular news style is “anti-abortion.” You can see the clear bias and, make no mistake, the media have a huge influence in forming opinions.
If you think it’s an exaggeration to say that Catholics are divided on abortion, here’s an actual anecdote from a local Catholic school.
A group of fourth-graders are sitting around talking one day before the election. One of the boys says to the others that his mom says having an abortion is between the mother and her doctor. Another quickly chimes in and says, “Dude, abortion is killing a baby.” A couple of other kids agree that abortion does kill a child.
The other element to this amendment is the threat to parents’ rights. The Issue 1 promoters showed their savvy with how they framed this part of the amendment, emphasizing that a “no” vote would restrict their rights and the rights of a child.
On the contrary, the amendment will give minor children an avenue to pursue abortions or gender surgeries without informing their parents or guardians. In other words, parents will have less control over potentially life-altering decisions impacting their kids.
Gender issues are another area where we need to choose our words carefully. Those in favor of gender-change procedures use the term “reassignment” in referring to a surgery to change a body part of a male or female.
Instead, call it what it is: mutilation. God did not make a mistake when he created a male or a female, but attempts to alter the body that Our Lord wondrously made are blatantly disrespectful.
If you’ve done any reading on gender dysphoria, you’ll find a growing number of young adults who regret distorting their bodies after they were led to believe by peers and even medical professionals that they’d be happy as the opposite gender. Studies have shown that 80% of youth experiencing gender confusion outgrow it by late adolescence.
Lost in the debate are the reasons for an abortion in the first place. Twenty years ago, the country had some serious debates about abstinence education. Today, it’s rare to read any stories or hear any discussions about sexual morality.
Abortions wouldn’t even be necessary in a society that values moral living, traditional marriage and abstinence from intimate relations outside of marriage. There would not be any so-called “unwanted” babies to abort.
Critics will say that you can’t change the sexualized culture. That’s what Planned Parenthood and other abortion and artificial contraception providers want you to believe because they profit handsomely from desperate women who come to their facilities for a quick fix.
So, how do Catholics clean up this mess? Solidarity, education, vigilance.
The efforts to oppose the amendment by the Catholic Conference of Ohio on behalf of the state’s bishops and numerous pro-life organizations were admirable. The bishops showed no hesitation or fear in spreading the message to vote “no” in every parish throughout the state.
Priests spoke out from the pulpit without reticence, as they should on abortion. Laity and pro-life groups distributed signs, handed out information, made phone calls and prayed diligently.
If Catholics can continue to be that fervent and influence a vast majority of Catholics to defend life, then a victory will be achieved.
To do that, the Church needs to make it clear once and for all that abortion in all cases is unacceptable. That starts with the hierarchy.
Not only do we need to see more clergy and laity praying in front of abortion centers (don’t call them clinics) and talking to abortion-minded women whenever possible, they must hold Catholic policymakers accountable to follow Church teaching on the right to life or face disciplinary, canonical consequences.
Above all, the education process starts in Catholic homes and schools. Chastity, virtue and respect for God’s precious gift of human life must be imbued in the hearts and minds of our precious children from an early age.
Now is not the time to give into the temptation for despair. Regroup and continue the fight. Always keep in mind that the Author of Life will triumph over the forces of evil.
