Center for Christian Virtue's The Rundown is the most important political and cultural news for Christians in Ohio. Thanks for reading this biweekly newsletter!

What's Happening

Ohio

• Only Up From Here: Troy McIntosh, the Executive Director of CCV's Ohio Christian Education Network, shared with Cleveland.com that last year's EdChoice expansion occurred too late in the year for most families to be able to switch to a private school. Troy also shared that there will likely be an increase this year, especially as 65 percent of Ohio fourth graders and 67 percent of eighth graders were not even “proficient” in reading in 2022. In an interesting contextualization, The Heritage Foundation recently released a report on the impact of illegal immigration on public schools, which are required to educate children regardless of immigration status.
  

• Too Soon to Tell: With early voting in full swing and the March 19 Primary Election Day just two weeks away, early data analysis is showing that this year's early, in-person voting turnout is more than double compared to the same period for the 2020 Primary, while mail-in absentee ballot requests are currently down.
  
  

• What Budget? The Statehouse legislature is currently in the middle of deciding Ohio's biennial Capital Budget, but negotiations between the House of Representatives and the Senate have become gridlocked. The Ohio Senate passed a $1.4 billion capital spending bill that was amended into Substitute House Bill 27, while the Ohio House passed their own version in Substitute House Bill 2. They have until June 30 to pass the final budget.

US

• Tanking Freedom: Last week, The Heritage Foundation released its annual Index of Economic Freedom. Once esteemed for its "mostly free" ranking, the US maintained its global ranking of 25th freest country, but received its lowest grade yet in the 30-year history of the Index.
  

• Double Standards: The Supreme Court will hear arguments later this month over how the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has deregulated mifepristone, a mail-order abortion pill. The Fifth Circuit held last year that the FDA violated the Administrative Procedure Act by dropping longstanding safety rules for obtaining and using the drug. Beyond the physical risks involved, with nearly 70 percent of abortions being coerced, unwanted, or at least inconsistent with the woman's preferences, removing the safety standards could easily to that number.
  

• That Didn't Work: After Oregon voters decriminalized personal-use amounts of drugs in 2020, which was supposed to send hundreds of millions of dollars of marijuana tax revenues to drug treatment programs, now roughly four Oregonians a day are dying from drug overdose. Just last week, the Oregon Legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill recriminalizing the possession of small amounts of drugs.

World

• Pseudoscience is Real: Newly leaked files from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), largely considered the leading global authority on “gender medicine,” reveal that they do not meet the standards of evidence-based medicine, regularly violating informed consent and medical ethics. The files reveal members improvise treatments as they go and that they are aware children–and even some parents–cannot comprehend the lifelong consequences of so-called “gender-affirming care.” 
  

• What Happened to 'Erase the Stigma?' Contrary to popular pro-transgenderism opinion, a new 23-year study from Finland has found that the underlying mental health disorders faced by adolescents who also struggle with their gender identity contribute to their higher suicide rate, not access to "gender medicine." As the study concluded, "gender dysphoria does not appear to be predictive of all-cause nor suicide mortality when psychiatric treatment history is accounted for. It is of utmost importance to identify and appropriately treat mental disorders in adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria to prevent suicide."
  

• France Protects Murder: Citing the US Supreme Court's decision in 2022 that overturned the poorly decided Roe v. Wade, France voted earlier this week to enshrine abortion as a “guaranteed freedom” in their Constitution, even preventing future governments from “drastically modifying” the laws funding abortions up to 14 weeks. 

Listen Up

Alabama's Supreme Court Ruling Exposes the Dark Side of IVF with Emma Waters: Emma Waters from The Heritage Foundation discusses the unregulated, Big Money practice of in vitro fertilization (IVF), breaking down the information that all pro-life proponent should know, from the physical risks and complications to the many ethical, moral, and theological issues involved.

The Details on the Biggest Bribery Scandal in Ohio History with Rep. Brian Stewart: Representative Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) discusses the biggest public corruption scandal in Ohio history: the scandal around former HB6. 

Listen anywhere you get your podcasts!

Worldview Development

As a Christian, it can be hard to know how to engage with social-political conversations. Here are our top recommendations this week for developing your worldview to be equipped to tackle today's top issues:

• What is inclusive language and why is it dangerous? By Julieta Villar
  "The move toward so-called inclusive language finds its origins in the feminist movement where activists considered sexist the generic masculine form of words, which has perennially been understood to include both men and women. In the past, for example, no one thought of challenging 'for the good of mankind' as excluding women."
  

• Sexual Violence Should Not Be Used as a Rhetorical Weapon in the Abortion Debate By John Stonestreet
  "As this research and reporting made clear, rape is perversely useful to those who wish to expand abortion access. But using rape in this way could have unintended consequences. For example, it may desensitize some into thinking of rape as a social given, a stubborn part of communal life that we just can’t do anything about."
  

• Helping children find their identity in Christ in a digital world By Micah Gaston
  "Every child is looking for a place to anchor his or her identity, whether that be in the search for a best friend on the preschool playground, trying to make the team, or joining the right club in their teen years. It is essential that Christian parents guide their children toward their identity in Christ while protecting against spiritual identity theft in today’s digital age."

Legislative Update

While the House of Representatives and Senate have paused their full chamber sessions until after the Presidential Primary Election, individual Committees are still having hearings.

• SB159–Tax Credit for Pregnancy Resource Center Donations
  SB159 would establish a nonrefundable tax credit for donations to qualifying pregnancy resource centers. Nilani Jawahar, CCV's Legislative Liaison, testifed in support of the bill during its second hearing in the Senate Finance Committee. You can watch or read her testimony.

Take a moment to review where other CCV-backed legislation currently stand in the 135th General Assembly.

View the March 6 Legislative Tracker

Click here to learn how a bill becomes a law in Ohio.

Elections

Early in-person and mailed absentee voting continues for the Presidential Primary Election on Tuesday, March 19 (polls will be open 6:30 am to 7:30 pm).

Final early in-person voting hours:

• Through Friday, March 8: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

• Saturday, March 9: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

• Monday, March 11: 7:30 am - 7:30 pm

• Tuesday, March 12: 7:30 am - 8:30 pm

• Wednesday, March 13, to Friday, March 15: 7:30 am - 7:30 pm

• Saturday, March 16: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

• Sunday, March 17: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Before you go, review what's on your ballot. Each county Board of Elections office has a list of the candidates and issues appearing on your ballot. 

You can also request an absentee ballot.

Resources & Opportunities

• CCV's OCEN Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO)
  Did you know that Ohio allows you to donate to a Christian or Catholic school scholarships, and receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit up to $750 per individual? CCV's Ohio Christian Education Network runs an SGO for our member schools.
  
  You can donate by April 15 and apply it to your 2023 taxes. 

Don't Miss

• Persuasive Prolife: Apologetics Conference for Students
  

  "Are you scared to talk about abortion? Don’t worry, almost everyone is. Either we think the subject is too impolite, or we don’t want to be branded an intolerant fanatic, or we’re afraid we won’t represent the pro-life side well enough. Whatever the reason for this fear, it causes many of us to pass up opportunities to speak out on behalf of the preborn. This conference will help you overcome this fear and equip you to become a bold and effective apologist for life."
  
  CCV is a cosponsor of this event on Saturday, May 18, 10:00 am – 2:30 pm, on the campus of OSU. Learn more and register now at ohiolife.org/tickets.

Prayer

Scripture calls us to pray for those in authority and to have confidence that God hears our prayers. Join the CCV team this week in praying for the below intentions.

• Our elected officials: Rep. Marilyn John (R-Shelby), U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Marietta), Rep. Mark Johnson (R-Chillicothe), Sen. Terry Johnson (R-McDermott), Rep. Don Jones (R-Freeport), and U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Urbana).
  

• Pray for the gridlock at the Ohio Statehouse to be released, and for lawmakers to work together in unity for the good of our State.
  

• Continue to pray for the churches that are looking to plant schools this fall. 
  

• Pray that Christians would turn out to vote in the Primary Election, and that Ohio would elect candidates who will serve with righteousness and truth.

As Ohio’s largest Christian public policy organization, Center for Christian Virtue seeks the good of our neighbors by advocating for public policy that reflects the truth of the Gospel. 

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