More than 100 black faith and community leaders released an open letter on Tuesday urging Ohioans to vote against an upcoming ballot measure that would place a right to an abortion into the state constitution.
In November, voters in Ohio will vote on Issue 1, which would enshrine abortion into the state constitution. The effort is backed by the Ohio Democratic Party, the ACLU of Ohio, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, and Ohio Women’s Alliance.
Pro-life groups, like Protect Women Ohio, have campaigned against the effort to protect abortion, warning that it would push forward the movement to have no limits on abortion in the state.
“This is not a party line vote, nor is Issue 1 a Republican or Democrat issue. This is a moral issue and for the Black community in particular, it is a life-or-death matter. Only 13 percent of Ohio’s population is Black, yet 48 percent of abortions in our state are performed on Black women – a tragic and difficult reality that our community cannot ignore,” the open letter from the black leaders said.
“[Issue 1] is more extreme than Roe v. Wade, and it will allow for painful, late-term abortions through all nine months of pregnancy – even after an unborn baby can feel pain. It will permit our children to undergo abortions without parents knowing. And it will continue to rob generations of Black women and men of the insurmountable joy of parenthood,” the letter added.
Pastor Jeff Haygood, of Living Word Church in Columbus, signed on to the letter and told The Daily Wire in an interview that the issue was a moral question rather than a political one. Haygood said that abortion was dangerous because it allowed people to pick and choose who gets to be born.
“So when we start playing God and deciding who’s worthy to be born, who’s worthy to live, I think that’s extremely dangerous,” he said. “Nobody has the right to take anyone else’s life or to prevent someone from coming into this world and living.”
He said that supporting unborn life should be an opportunity for unity among Christians, but said that some pastors were scared to speak out if their congregants voted “for people who champion abortion.”
“We’re married to the Lord but we’re cheating with the Democrats,” Haygood said. “I believe that you speak up in courage because you are an oracle of God, you are a mouthpiece for the Lord himself. Nobody is going to like everything I say, I just want to make sure God likes what I say.”
Both Haygood and the letter referenced the racist origins of Planned Parenthood and the eugenic purpose of abortion, which targeted black communities.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP
Voters in a special election in Ohio earlier this year rejected a Republican-backed effort which would have made it more difficult to amend the state’s constitution, meaning it would have been more difficult for abortion to be added to the state constitution.
Pro-life ballot initiatives have struggled to gain support, even in red states, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as the Left has poured millions into backing abortion in places like Ohio, Kansas, and Kentucky. Haygood said the vote in November would be a big moment for the state moving forward and a good opportunity for Ohioans to stand for life.
“This issue is going to be a watershed moment for the state of Ohio one way or another. I hope it is a moment that Ohioans rise to the occasion, take a stand for life, and move forward accordingly. If it’s not, we create a culture of death,” he said.