Ohio Prenatal Equal Protection Act–Get Involved!
On June 18th, State Representatives Levi Dean and Johnathan Newman jointly filed House Bill 370, the Ohio Prenatal Equal Protection Act, which would abolish abortion by providing equal protection to every preborn person. They were joined by six co-sponsors.
The filing of the Ohio Prenatal Equal Protection Act marks a historic event in Ohio. Never before in this state has legislation been introduced that would provide equal protection to the preborn. However, Ohio is not alone. With the introduction of this bill, Ohio joins the growing movement that is sweeping the nation and becomes the twenty-third state in the Union to file a bill of equal protection.
Moreover, Ohio is only the second of eleven states to file a bill of equal protection after an abortion rights amendment was passed. The passing of the Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including Abortion Initiative in 2023 did not settle the abortion issue in Ohio.
Wondering how to get involved? Here are some practical actions you can take to get involved in the fight:
The bill has now been assigned to the judiciary committee. You can find the judiciary committee members and their contact info here: https://ohiohouse.gov/committees/judiciary. Contact the committee members, specifically, the chair of the committee, Jim Thomas, and urge them to support HB370, the Ohio Prenatal Equal Protection Act.
Representatives Newman and Dean were joined by six co-sponsors. Right now, they are facing pressure from the public. They need to hear from YOU, and your church community. Please take ten to fifteen minutes to email these courageous legislators and let them know that they have your support. See https://www.endabortionohio.com/legislators-thank-you for an email template.
Ohio Right to Life has come out in opposition to H.B. 370, which would grant legal personhood to the preborn. This is inconsistent with their stated mission, “ORTL works to restore legal personhood to the unborn…”
By publicly opposing this effort, ORTL is standing in the way of personhood for the preborn and legal abolition. Read about their long-time opposition here.
The pressure needs to be put on ORTL and its president, Mike Gonidakis, for opposing equal protection.
Please contact the members at ORTL to exhort them towards repentance. See https://ohiolife.org/who_we_are/ for contact info.
Contact your state representative and let them know that you’d like them to do all they can to support the bill. You can find your state rep here: https://www.ohiohouse.gov/. Fruthermore, you can find helpful tips on how contacting your state rep here on our resource tab: https://www.endabortionohio.com/resources.
Support from Ohio pastors is vital. We have written and published the Pastoral Petition for HB370 (https://www.endabortionohio.com/pastoral-petition-hb370). Share this with your pastor and every Ohio pastor you know, and encourage them to sign it.
Alongside the Pastoral Petition, we also have an Organizational Petition. Know of an organization, or individual whose support would add weight to HB370? Send this to them, and urge them to sign them!
Contact your local pro-life organization to talk about HB370. Consider also the major pro-life organizations, and exhort them to repentance, encouraging them to support this just bill.
Right to Life Action Coalition
(https://rtlaohio.org/contact-us/)
Center for Christian Virtue (https://www.ccv.org/contact)
Post about the Ohio Prenatal Equal Protection Act using the hashtag #HB370 on social media. The more visibility, the better. Tag your local rtl orgs and your elected officials. Let’s keep the pressure on!
Interested in being a County Captain, and taking ownership of your neck of the woods? We need local people to engage in local communities! Boots on the ground. Let us know if you’re interested––we still have a lot of counties in Ohio to fill.
Contact us for HB370 literature (drop cards, flyers) that you can use to raise the alarm wherever you go.
Write to your local media concerning HB370. Let’s keep this before the public and enter into the fight with truth, courage, and boldness!
