Thousands rally against abortion in Ohio March for Life

Thousands of pro-life supporters have gathered in Ohio for the US state’s second March for Life.

Attended by around 6,000 people, the march was held just days before early voting opened on a radical pro-abortion amendment to the state’s constitution.

If approved, the law would claim that every “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 most vulnerable’

The proposed amendment states that “abortion may be prohibited after fetal viability. But in no case may such an abortion be prohibited if in the professional judgment of the pregnant patient’s treating physician it is necessary to protect the pregnant patient’s life or health.”

every person has inherent human dignity from the moment of conception

President of March for Life Jeanne Mancini urged attendees to vote against the amendment, saying: “We are all united by one common understanding, that every life is a gift and every person has inherent human dignity from the moment of conception.”

“It has been said that a society can be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable. Well let’s be clear, the unborn are the poorest of the poor, they are the most vulnerable. ”

‘Emotional torment’

Aisha Taylor, who felt trapped over her boyfriend’s pressure to abort her twins, told the crowd how she felt she was “failing them” when she watched them on the ultrasound.

“One of my twins turned to face me and we made eye contact” and “that look pierced my soul and I became emotionally tormented.”

But after failing to get an abortion appointment, one evening she decided to attend church where she heard a sermon that persuaded her to choose life.

Abortion figures

According to the Ohio Department of Health, the number of abortions performed in the state dropped more than 15 per cent in 2022.

There were 18,488 abortions recorded for 2022, down from 21,813 in 2021.

Currently, abortion is legal in Ohio up to 22 weeks. In 2019, a ‘heartbeat Bill’ was passed banning abortions after six weeks, but it was subsequently blocked following a legal challenge and only reinstated between 24 June and 14 September 2022 before it was suspended again pending a future ruling.

During those months, 1,967 abortions were still carried out.