Webinars on state funding for food and the Fair School Funding Plan
March 15, noon, Ohio Council of Churches Webinar: Register here for this lunch and learn on key elements of the state budget and their impact on food security and poverty.
March 17, noon, on the Fair School Funding Plan which is designed to distribute state funding equitably over Ohio’s school districts. Sign up here. Sponsored by the All in For Ohio’s Kids Coalition.
Budget Advocacy Day for food security
Sponsored by the Hunger Network in Ohio, the Ohio Council of Churches, and the Dominican Sisters of Peace, this day will connect you to legislators to ask them to address the impact of inflation and the end of pandemic food programs by expanding state funding for school meals, SNAP benefits for senior citizens, and funding for the food banks our congregations depend on to stock pantries and soup kitchens. March 28, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The day starts at Trinity, Capitol Square. People registering will be invited to Zoom policy briefings before Advocacy Day. Sign up here. Lunch provided.
Ohio reproductive freedom ballot measure cleared to collect signatures
On March 13, the Ohio Ballot Board voted unanimously to certify that a proposed constitutional amendment is a single issue and thus can be placed on the November ballot if supporters collect at least 413,446 valid signatures from at least 44 counties by July 5. Forbes published a detailed timeline on the hurdles and political dynamics surrounding the quest to get this amendment on the ballot.
Simultaneously, members of the Ohio Legislature are advancing HJR 1 to get their own constitutional amendment on the fall ballot. In addition to requiring signatures from at least 5% of the electors in every county for a citizen-sponsored amendment to qualify for the ballot, HJR1 would raise the threshold for passing this kind of constitutional amendment from a simple majority to 60% of the electorate. Similar battles are underway in several other states.
The proposed ballot measure seeks to protect reproductive freedom as a constitutional right in Ohio, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v Wade and Ohio’s law banning abortions after six weeks (currently on hold while it’s being litigated in state court). The amendment, which would protect abortion rights until the fetus is viable (23-24 weeks), reads “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.” A poll conducted by Public Religion Research Institute between March and December of last year found that 66% of Ohio voters said that abortion should be legal in most or all cases.
Here is a summary of the Episcopal Church’s resolutions on reproductive rights Taken together, these resolutions show the Church’s struggle to balance its respect for life, emphatically opposing “abortion as a form of birth control…or any reason of mere convenience” but also calling for “women’s reproductive health and reproductive health procedures to be treated as all other medical procedures.” The [2018 General] Convention declared “that equitable access to women’s health care, including women’s reproductive health care, is an integral part of a woman’s struggle to assert her dignity and worth as a human being.”
This same 2018 Resolution added that “legislating abortions will not address the root of the problem. We therefore express our deep conviction that any proposed legislation on the part of national or state governments regarding abortions must take special care to see that the individual conscience is respected, and that the responsibility of individuals to reach informed decisions in this matter is acknowledged and honored as the position of this Church.” The summary also points out that the global Anglican Church has supported responsible family planning and the use of contraceptives since 1930. The proposed Ohio constitutional amendment includes protecting the right to use contraceptives.
Advocacy briefings are compiled by Ariel Miller, a longtime community advocate and member of Ascension & Holy Trinity, Wyoming. Connect with her at arielmillerwriter@gmail.com
