Ohio Right to Life announced its general election endorsements today, and they include support for pro-life Governor John Kasich’s re-election.
Today, the Ohio Right to Life PAC announced its endorsements for the 2014 general elections, predicting major wins in the statewide and Ohio Supreme Court races. Following four years of pro-life leadership from Governor John Kasich, the PAC issued a second endorsement for the governor.
Under Governor John Kasich’s pro-life leadership, Ohio abortions have dropped to all-time lows. In 2012, 25,473 abortions were performed in Ohio, down half from the record high of over 45,000 abortions performed in the 1980s. Over the last four years, Governor Kasich has signed into law 12 Ohio Right to Life initiatives, including the de-funding of Planned Parenthood and a late-term abortion ban. In 2012, Ohio witnessed a 30 percent drop in abortions after 19 weeks.
When John Kasich took office, Ohio had 18 abortion facilities. Today, the state has 11. An abortion mill in Toledo and one in Sharonville are also on the verge of being closed. Clinics have closed across the state for various reasons, including failure of health inspections and lack of a legal transfer agreement with a local hospital. One late-term abortion facility closed following the enactment of the late-term abortion ban
Katie McCann, the Public Relations Manager for Ohio Right to Life, told LifeNews why the group endorsed the governor and said he has been a champion for unborn children.
“We are endlessly grateful for Governor Kasich’s compassion for women and their children,” said Katie McCann, public relations manager for Ohio Right to Life. “His administration is doing its job by holding these mills accountable to basic health and safety standards.”
Governor Kasich’s challenger, Ed FitzGerald, identifies as “100 percent pro-choice,” which has Ohioans wondering just how radically pro-abortion his administration would be.
“John Kasich and Ed FitzGerald present two very different paths for Ohioans: The path to life or the path to abortion,” said McCann. “Our hope is that voters will look at Governor Kasich’s incredible pro-life record for the last four years, and vote for another term of pro-life leadership this fall.”
Looking at other races, the Ohio Right to Life PAC also endorsed two pro-life women, Sharon Kennedy and Judi French, for the Ohio Supreme Court.
“The winning trend for the Ohio Right to Life PAC is to endorse a diverse group of common-sense pro-life Democrats and Republicans,” said Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life. “We are predicting that Planned Parenthood’s knee-jerk Democrat endorsements will fail miserably, from Ed FitzGerald to the bottom of the barrel. They’ll have no choice but to bury their failed, false ‘War on Women’ rhetoric and accept once and for all that Ohio is a common-sense, pro-life state.”
As a traditionally bipartisan organization, the ORTL PAC supported four Democrats: John Rogers (House District 60), Representative Mike Curtin (House District 17), Representative Bill Patmon (House District 10) and Cecil Thomas (Senate District 9).
Ohio Right to Life has endorsed almost four times as many candidates as Planned Parenthood has for the Ohio House and Ohio Senate. With anticipated pro-life gains in the Statehouse, the Ohio Right to Life PAC predicts a stronger pro-life General Assembly in 2015. An additional two pro-life seats are expected to be picked up by ORTL PAC-endorsed candidates Republican Kyle Koehler (House District 79) and Democrat Cecil Thomas (Senate District 9).
“Our diverse, pro-life strategy succeeded in the primaries, and we have every reason to believe it will succeed in the general election,” said Gonidakis. “Ohio Right to Life represents all parties. We are confident that this fall Ohio will diversify its pro-life voice, with new perspectives from both the African American community and the Democratic Party.”
To view the full list of the Ohio Right to Life PAC’s endorsements, click here.
