Letter to the Editor: A Post-Issue One Ohio

Olivia Barnes is a sophomore at Ohio University studying strategic leadership, management and accounting in the Honors Tutorial College.

Please note that the views of this letter and in opinion pieces do not reflect those of The New Political.

Editor’s Note: This letter was edited for clarity.

Now that the election is over, I hope that we can talk sincerely about the passing of this abortion amendment. Ultimately, this illuminates a few significant details about the priorities of our culture. I think it is important that we reflect on our values with a clear head, away from the party lines and buzzword-filled advertisements.

An unborn human being in the womb is undeniably, scientifically, alive. According to a University of Chicago study that surveyed over 5,000 academics, 96% of biologists agree that life begins at conception. This is the moment when a unique genetic code is created and that life begins to grow. Voters need to be honest with themselves about what abortion is: the ending of a human life. Are you at peace with defending this?

Almost everyone I’ve asked on this campus has affirmed the statement that “all lives have value.” Seeing the voting results in Athens County, however, voters placed a higher value on the desires of the mother than on the life of the child. So what, you may be thinking, the fetus is not even conscious yet, or it is better for it to be dead than to live with struggles, or the fetus isn’t out in society, so killing it will have little impact. Know that these excuses sound like the justifications that were used to propagate every human rights violation throughout history. They fly in the face of a founding moral principle of our country, that all lives are created equal. Our value does not change with wealth, age, social status or ability. The only morally sound rule is to affirm that all lives are worthy of defending. If the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members, our society falls woefully short.

No one likes abortion, we just want women to have the ability to choose. This is the claim that I’ve heard time and time again during this election cycle. It begs the question, why is abortion distasteful to so many people? I believe that the reality of abortion registers somewhere deep in their subconscious. I believe they recognize how deeply wrong it is to advocate for mothers to end the lives of their own children. The abortion industry preys upon more vulnerable lives than just the unborn. It makes desperate women believe that abortion is a solution to their troubles. This is a lie. Abortion doesn’t lift women out of poverty. It doesn’t end patterns of abuse or fix this broken world.

The pro-life movement has a different message for pregnant and parenting women: life is precious, and you are not alone. True support is about empowering women, letting them know that they are strong enough to choose their child and their dreams, and walking alongside them through thick and thin. If you are faced with an unplanned pregnancy, please find free resources near you and peer-to-peer counseling. You are strong enough.

My position is simple. The unborn are alive and all lives have value, therefore, abortion is wrong because it directly and intentionally ends the life of a human being. Mothers deserve our support because they have one of the most challenging and meaningful jobs on the planet: raising the next generation. I envision a better world in which life is cherished. A world where abortion is unnecessary and unthinkable.

Issue One has passed, but we will never stop fighting until every life is saved.