The pro-life coalition Protect Women Ohio (PWO) launched two new video ads this week designed to educate the public about what’s really at stake should the abortion industry succeed in passing a state amendment declaring abortion as a constitutional “right” — namely, the loss of parents’ rights to protect their children.
Libby McCartney speaks in the first ad, titled, “Libby.” In the video, she speaks about the parental rights that are threatened by the proposed amendment, noting that it opens the door to not only abortion, but also sex changes or anything to do with the reproductive organs, all without differentiating between minors and adults. She notes that under the amendment, someone could coerce her daughter and take her daughter to get an abortion or a procedure done, and she wouldn’t even have to know about it.
“Today in Ohio, if your child wants to have an abortion or get a sex change, you as a parent have rights. This amendment would take away those rights,” she warns. “This is about parental rights, it’s not just about abortion like they say it is.”
In the second video, “Linda,” Linda Corbitt notes her similar reasons for disagreeing with the amendment.
“They’re going after my kids,” she says. “And I get really passionate about it because I can’t support something where I lose my parental rights. The language in this amendment takes away our rights as parents to be involved with the decisions our children make… They added in these really loose language terms such as ‘reproductive decisions’. So it could be my 11-year-old daughter going out and making decisions without my involvement. She can say, ‘I’m going to go get a sex change’, and I can’t say or do anything about it because we have this amendment now that eliminates my right as a parent. They could have made a distinction between adults and minors, but they didn’t.”
As abortion advocates are currently collecting signatures to place the amendment on a November ballot, PWO is running a $5 million campaign to warn voters just how far-reaching and extreme this amendment is.
“Moms and dads will be cut out of the most important and life-altering decisions of their child’s life, if this passes,” Molly Smith, a PWO board member, previously said in a press release. “This extreme amendment eliminates any current or future protections for minors requiring parents be notified and consent before their child undergoes a procedure like an abortion or sex change surgery. Ohioans must vote ‘no’ on this dangerous proposal.”
“Parents have every reason to fear the ACLU’s extreme agenda,” said Mark Harrington, President of the pro-life organization Created Equal. “As a father of 4, I stand with Libby, Linda, and all Ohio parents in opposing this amendment which threatens parental rights and the rights of preborn children. Removing protections for both parents and children is reckless.”
The idea of removing parental rights for reasons involving “reproductive healthcare” is not far fetched. Washington state lawmakers just passed a law along these lines, and it awaits the governor’s signature: According to the Washington Free Beacon:
The Washington House of Representatives this week passed Senate Bill 5599, which would eliminate a law that requires youth shelters to alert parents when their child checks in, unless there is evidence the child is being abused. The proposal would widen the scope of what constitutes a “compelling reason” to conceal a minor to include youths seeking sex change operations or “reproductive health services,” like abortion. The bill, which the Senate passed in March, now goes to Gov. Jay Inslee’s (D.) desk for a signature.
