Ohio Catholic Dioceses Gave Nearly $1 Million to Fight Abortion Rights Amendment

The state-level push to protect abortion rights will continue in Ohio in November with activists trying to amend the state constitution to protect reproductive healthcare. And while conservatives have tried to paint local efforts as outside actors pressuring Ohioans to amend the constitution, it turns out one of the largest pushes on either side is from local Catholic archdioceses, which have given nearly $1 million in donations to defeat the pro-abortion Issue 1.

The Catholic Church, particularly in America, is vehemently anti-abortion. This is not breaking news. What is news is just how much money a handful of Ohio Catholic archdioceses donated to defeat Issue 1—which would allow Ohioans to vote on enshrining reproductive rights into the state constitution, a legal strategy turned to by pro-abortion advocates after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati donated $500,000 to Protect Ohio Women, the main group trying to defeat it. This donation makes it the largest Ohio-based donor. In fact, according to FEC records, its donation is only outpaced (at this time) by repeated donations from the Virginia-based anti-abortion group, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, and the one-time $2 million from the Virginia-based Protect Women Ohio Action, Inc.

The next largest donations to the anti-abortion side are from the Diocese of Cleveland and the Diocese of Columbus each with donations of $200,000. This means, that together, some of the largest dioceses in the state have given $900,000 to defeat Issue 1. The Cincinnati Enquirer, which first published news of the massive donations, was unable to confirm if more donations were coming before the November vote.



https://jezebel.com/ohio-catholic-dioceses-gave-nearly-1-million-to-fight-1850843727