A Year After Dobbs
After nearly half a century, last year, on June 24 th , 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and declared that abortion is not a constitutional right. Since the ruling, 13 states have enacted their trigger laws, and Ohio began to enforce our Heartbeat law until being blocked on September 14 th indefinitely by a Hamilton County Judge—allowing abortion in our state until 22 weeks gestation.
Over the year, many pro-life organizations celebrated as they touted studies claiming that abortion numbers declined significantly since the Dobbs decision in states where pro-life laws were enacted, including Ohio. Even outlets like CNN claimed that abortion numbers dropped by 32,000 from July 2022 until December 2022. The Cincinnati Enquirer also claimed that Ohio saw a 65% decrease in abortion when our Heartbeat law was enacted.
While I’m sure some mothers were prevented from procuring abortions based on pro-life laws, the data, unfortunately, does not show this to be the case overall. In the very same study used to claim abortion numbers have dropped by 5,377 abortions per month nationwide, the researchers admit that self-managed abortions were not taken into consideration and state that self-managed abortion requests are estimated to have risen by at least 6,500 per month. In another study, researchers found that states with abortion bans in place saw a 31% increase in self-managed abortions.
Furthermore, the abortion lobby in Ohio announced this year that they are bringing forth a ballot initiative to enshrine abortion-on-demand into our state’s constitution. In response, Ohio’s General Assembly has put forth its own ballot initiative for the August 8 th election named “Issue 1” to raise the threshold necessary to amend the constitution from 50% to 60%. Passing Issue 1 would make it much more difficult for an amendment to pass that would enshrine abortion.
However, despite the grassroots begging pro-life organizations to fight this initiative offensively by putting forth our own amendment or working towards passing just laws, they have taken a very different approach. They have insisted on pausing all legislative efforts concerning abortion until after November out of fear of receiving bad press from the left.
They believe that if any laws outlawing abortion are passed or even introduced during the same time as the ballot initiative, Ohioans will vote in favor of the abortion amendment due to our side being viewed as “too extreme.” Unfortunately, most pro-life elected officials also adhering to this political strategy.
Instead, to combat the abortion ballot initiative, pro-life organizations have formed a coalition group named “Protect Women Ohio” to campaign against it. The group panders to “independents” by utilizing Clinton-era messaging focusing solely on parental rights and “common-sense” health codes for abortion mills. Their social media rarely mentions the word abortion, let alone speaks against it, and when they do, it is only regarding “painful late-term abortions.” The entire campaign is dictated by polling and DC consultants rather than any true conviction for the issue.
Not shockingly, Ohio’s pro-life organizations are not the only groups telling their supporters that this is not the “right time” to pursue laws of equal protection, despite Roe v. Wade no longer being an obstacle.
Multiple Republican Presidential Candidates, most notably President Donald Trump, have stated that we must allow for rape and incest exceptions and ultimately leave the issue up to the states, calling any attempt to protect the preborn at a federal level “extreme.” President Trump even said that Florida’s recent version of the Heartbeat bill—which included rape and incest exceptions—was “too harsh.”
The truth is, a year has passed since Roe v. Wade fell, and our state and nation have not shifted one iota towards protecting the preborn legally nor culturally. Abortion remains to be legal in all 50 states, conservative politicians have backed off from championing the issue altogether, and in every state where bills of equal protection have been introduced, the pro-life establishment works overtime to ensure they do not pass.
However, one aspect has shifted immensely: Support for the abolition movement. Since last year, the pro-life movement has repeatedly exposed its corruption and compromise, causing the abolitionist movement to gain support in record numbers. More and more pro-life supporters are waking up every day to the fact that the pro-life establishment does not share the same goal that they do—which is to criminalize abortion. Whether it is over 70 organizations vowing to never support equal protection, or leaders in the establishment literally lobbying to expand abortion access in their state, or ignoring the issue altogether, people are noticing, including here in Ohio.
While the abortion lobby is fighting to ensure abortion remains the status quo in our state, we must take heart and stay focused. This abortion amendment can be defeated, bills of equal protection can be passed, and we can have true victory. But this will not happen through compromise. After 49 years of endless compromise with absolutely nothing to show, we must recognize that the only path forward is to trust in God and His ways, not the pro-life establishment. As 1 Timothy 6 reminds us, we are to pursue righteousness, fight the good fight, and take hold of eternal life.
Let this year be a lesson to us that God will not be mocked, and those who claim to pursue justice but do not actually do so will be held accountable. Just like ending slavery and segregation, injustice will not end until the Church rises up, repents for our compromise, and demands that our leaders submit to Christ.
