Pro-Abortion Group Launches ‘Billboard Blitz’ in Ohio Targeting Catholics Ahead of Election

A “dissident group claiming the name Catholic” launched a pro-abortion billboard campaign across Ohio last week ahead of an election on Tuesday that could decide the future of abortion laws in the state, LifeSite News reported.

A pro-abortion group called “Catholics for Choice” carried out a “billboard blitz” by putting up 30 billboards across the state, including in the state’s seven largest metropolitan areas, predicting that nearly nine million will have viewed the signs by election day, according to the report. The billboards contain messages like: “Pro-choice Catholics: you are not alone. Vote Yes on Issue 1,” and “63 percent of Catholics support legal abortion in all or most cases.”

“Catholics for Choice, which dissents from Catholic teaching on the sanctity of the life of the unborn, does not enjoy the endorsement of any Catholic bishop and so improperly assumes the name Catholic. The national pro-abortion advocacy group is based in Washington, D.C.,” the report notes.

Silence and stigma have no place in Ohio. Pro-choice Catholics, it's time to vote. #VoteYESonIssue1 pic.twitter.com/duoPAPMhIs

— Catholics for Choice (@Catholic4Choice) October 28, 2023

The billboards are referring to Issue 1, a ballot measure that would — likely irreversibly — codify the supposed “right” to abortion into the Ohio constitution.

Critics of the ballot amendment have been urgently warning that the measure is about much more than abortion and could be used to decimate parental rights, lead to abortion throughout pregnancy, and even allow minors to pursue sex-change procedures. Some constitutional scholars, as well as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R), point to the amendment’s broad language — specifically the use of the term “individual” — to argue that the amendment could be used to allow minors to obtain abortions without parental consent.

The amendment would “establish in the Constitution of the State of Ohio an individual right to one’s own reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abortion.” [Emphasis added]

The ballot measure, put forward by Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, a coalition comprised of far-left groups such as URGE, ACLU of Ohio, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, would also:

• Create legal protections for any person or entity that assists a person with receiving reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abortion;
• Prohibit the State from directly or indirectly burdening, penalizing, or prohibiting abortion before an unborn child is determined to be viable, unless the State demonstrates that it is using the least restrictive means;
• Grant a pregnant woman’s treating physician the authority to determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether an unborn child is viable;
• Only allow the State to prohibit an abortion after an unborn child is determined by a pregnant woman’s treating physician to be viable, and only if the physician does not consider the abortion necessary to protect the pregnant woman’s life or health; and
• Always allow an unborn child to be aborted at any stage of pregnancy, regardless of viability, if, in the treating physician’s determination, the abortion is necessary to protect the pregnant woman’s life or health.

The ACLU of Ohio is responsible for crafting the broad original language of the proposed abortion amendment, along with other groups such as Planned Parenthood. Members of the pro-abortion coalition have notably long campaigned to end parental involvement laws.

Left-wing fact-checkers have repeatedly asserted that the amendment would not impact parental rights, as have abortion activists involved with the “yes” campaign. But when local media questioned the ACLU of Ohio about whether the language of the measure would undo parental consent and notification laws, the organization vaguely indicated that those laws would not stand if the amendment passes.

“When you pass a constitutional amendment, it doesn’t just automatically erase everything and start over. But it would mean that laws that conflict with it cannot be enforced, should not be enforced,” said Jessie Hill, an attorney for the ACLU of Ohio.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost published his own legal analysis of Issue 1 and found that while the ballot language makes no mention of parental consent laws, “the parental-consent statute would certainly be challenged on the basis that Issue 1 gives abortion rights to any pregnant ‘individual,’ not just to a ‘woman.”’

Brian Hickey, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Ohio, which represents the Catholic bishops of the state, slammed the billboard campaign and accused Catholics for Choice of promoting a message that “endangers pregnant women and vulnerable children.” He said:

It is sad that a group of individuals who identify as Catholics would promote a message that endangers pregnant women and vulnerable children. We pray they convert to Christ’s message of solidarity with the marginalized and join the Church’s commitment to accompanying migrants, the poor, and all vulnerable people.

Issue 1 puts women at risk, threatens parental rights, and allows for abortion through nine months of pregnancy. The bishops of Ohio continue to urge the Catholic faithful, clergy, and all people of good will to speak out against the dangers of Issue 1 and vote no.

Last month, 171 clergymen who lead congregations in 23 counties across Ohio issued a joint statement condemning the ballot measure and urging Ohioans to reject the amendment.

“The Ohio faith community has consistently advocated for the sanctity of life and also advocated for moral clarity regarding childhood sexuality. With the mandate from GOD, we will not be silent on issues affecting our culture,” the statement reads in part.

“[W]e support the sanctity of life and believe the anti-family Issue 1 will normalize child abuse and strip parents of their God-given roles to raise their own children,” the statement continues. “This Fall on Tuesday November 7th, we encourage Ohioans to protect life and “VOTE NO” on Issue 1.”

Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.