As you’ll see in the “Quick Hits” section below, CCV spent quite a bit of time at the Statehouse this week. CCV staff and the President of Cedarville University Dr. Thomas White met with the Speaker of the House Clifford Rosenberger (R-Clarksville) and the senior staff at the Ohio Senate this week to discuss the importance of protecting religious freedom in Ohio. We’d like to thank the leaders for meeting with us.

FEATURED BILL OF THE WEEK:

JUDGE STRIKES DOWN SYNDROME NON-DISCRIMINATION BILL

Yesterday, federal Judge Timothy S. Black issued a preliminary injunction on the enforcement of House Bill (HB) 214. The bill prohibited abortions that are motivated by the possibility that a child may have Down syndrome. Judge Black was appointed by President Barrack Obama and he is a former Board Member and Director of Cincinnati Planned Parenthood. Attorney General Mike DeWine has appealed the decision.This bill exposes an ugly truth about the abortion industry and the judicial opinions that support it: that they see abortion as a means of birth control and social engineering. According to Judge Black, the law protects pre-viability abortions done for any purpose. So that could also include abortions done because of the child’s sex, race, or disability. In fact, Judge Black cited an Indiana case striking down a law that prohibited abortions motivated by those very factors.As far as I’m concerned, this principle is tantamount to approval of eugenics and shame on our judicial system for perpetuating it and the lawless Roe v. Wade holding. We see this principle on full display in Iceland, a country that has trumpeted its success in eliminating down syndrome through abortion. In fact, Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger was a known eugenicist.We will keep praying for the people so deeply affected by this and keep you updated as the case goes forward.

QUICK HITS

• I sent a letter on behalf of CCV yesterday to support the Mayor of Findlay Lydia Mahalik in response to a letter sent to the City by an organization called “Freedom From Religion Foundation.” That organization is attempting to intimidate the City into taking down a perfectly legal mural that quotes a Bible verse.
• I met this week with our two new sponsors and the expected committee chairman who will navigate the upcoming Campus Free Speech Act. The bill will provide students protections against free speech zones, trigger warnings, and other nonsensical restraints colleges are putting on speech. Stay tuned, we expect a bill introduction soon!
• The House Government Oversight and Accountability Committee held another hearing on CCV-opposed House Bill 512, which eliminates the Ohio State School Board and consolidates the Ohio Department of Education with other agencies. The Ohio State Board of Education voted this week to oppose the bill 11-4 and passed a Resolution to that effect as well.
• The House Criminal Justice Committee held another hearing on CCV-supported Senate Bill 145, which would ban a gruesome abortion procedure that literally rips babies’ bodies apart, called the “dilation and extraction” (D&E) abortion. This week, Ohio Right to Life and representatives from some pro-abortion groups debated whether there are suitable alternatives available to the D&E abortion procedure, if it were made illegal.
• A bi-partisan working group has been convened under the leadership of Representative Bob Cupp (R-Lima) and Representative John Patterson (D-Jefferson) to do research and analysis about the education funding system, in preparation for the state budget bill expected to be introduced in January of next year. Now is the time to voice any concerns you have to legislators about school funding.
• It’s “Sunshine Week” in Ohio, hence the new 2018 “Sunshine Laws” manual came out, updating the Attorney General’s guidance on public records requests. You can check it out here. Meanwhile, State Auditor Dave Yost, released a report that shows that citations issued by auditors for public records violations are down nearly 25% this year.

Our meeting with Senate staff this week. Pictured are myself, our President Aaron Baer, Cedarville University President Dr. Thomas White, and John Barron, Chief of Staff of the Ohio Senate.

REMINDERS

• Voter registration for the May 8^th primary election is due by April 9^th. Click here to register or update your registration.
• Over the next several months, the Ohio Board of Education will hold 11 stakeholder meetings throughout the state for the purpose of developing a strategic K-12 plan for the state and we want to make sure your voice is heard in this process. Click here for more information on how to get involved.
• CCV will be hosting a public talk with the Heritage Foundation’s Ryan T. Anderson in Columbus on the morning of March 28. His book “When Harry Became Sally” is one of the first comprehensive books on the subject of the transgender phenomena. We strongly recommend that you get a copy and make sure you tell your legislators to read it as well. We don’t have registration for the event up yet, but stayed tuned as it will be up by my next update.

LAWMAKER PRAYER FOCUS

Each week, we ask that you take a little time to get to know one of Ohio’s legislators and pray for them to have wisdom, moral guidance, and courage. In this edition, we want to pray for Representative Mike Ashford (D-Toledo). He represents the 44^th House District which is located in Toledo, Ohio. Rep. Ashford has always been a true gentleman as I’ve seen him around the Statehouse. 

Please reach out to your member of the General Assembly to speak your mind about these bills and others that you care about. You can find your member here.