(LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Daniel Thomas of the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio criticized a city ordinance that proposes the use of COVID-19 funds to pay for abortions and urged members of the city council to reject the proposal.
The amendment seeks to “enter into an agreement” between The Agnes Reynolds Jackson Fund (Aggie Fund) and the Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, authorizing the use of up to $100,000 of COVID relief funds to spend on abortion travel and procedure costs. The Toledo City Council will vote December 20 on the ordinance.
Thomas published a response to the proposal on Wednesday, emphasizing that “using funds allocated for COVID recovery to enable the taking of innocent lives and the harming of mothers and their children is both unjust and immoral.” He added that the $100,000 would be given “to a group whose sole purpose is to pay for travel and other expenses to procure abortions.”
“Since abortion is not ‘health care,’ it is counterintuitive that recovery funds would support the killing of the most vulnerable members of our society,” Thomas wrote. “It is our responsibility as faithful servants of God to spearhead legislation to make it easier for mothers and fathers to flourish economically so they can provide a loving and thriving home for their families.”
Thomas added that “the Catholic Church stands ready to assist” women in unplanned or crisis pregnancies, referring to the Walking with Moms in Need initiative, among other pro-life pregnancy resource centers.
“With this statement, I urge and invite all people of good will to join me in urging the members of the Toledo City Council to reject the proposed amendment to the ordinance and to vote ‘no’ on using COVID relief funds to harm our community rather than to fulfill their original purpose, to help our community,” he concluded.
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provided the city of Toledo with $180.9 million to “address the public health and negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the ordinance. The summary adds that “the agreement shall contain terms and conditions consistent with American Rescue Plan Act regulations and otherwise acceptable to the Director of Law.”
If passed, the amendment “shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage” because it is labeled “an emergency measure.”
“The reason for the emergency lies in the fact that the Ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety and property and for the further reason that this Ordinance must be immediately effective in order to provide financial assistance to Toledoans seeking reproductive healthcare [sic] services.”
A bill banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat is protected went into effect in Ohio after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Pro-abortion groups attempted to block the heartbeat bill, an act that was rejected by the state’s Supreme Court. In August, 160 Christian leaders across Ohio sent a letter to Ohio’s governor and lawmakers calling for greater pro-life legislation to protect the unborn.
Last month, pro-lifers celebrated the victory of Republican J.D. Vance, who won a Senate seat for Ohio. Pro-life organizations across the state supported Vance throughout his campaign, when he declared that he is “100 percent pro-life.”
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