BREAKING NEWS: Columbus City Council Pledged this morning an upcoming legislative package that:

You can read our media statement online.

This is part of an ongoing trend that illustrates exactly why Greater Columbus Right to Life has been investing in a c4 advocacy organization called GCRTL ACT. While our C3 - the Columbus Right to Life Educational Foundation (DBA GCRTL) can accept tax-deductible donations it is limited in the types of direct advocacy that it can participate in. GCRTL ACT will not be as limited. This is a significant investment and requires a different funding stream, separate accounting, and more.

Indeed, we have already had our first victory - several weeks ago the Franklin County Department of Public Health announced at the last minute that it would be amending its 2019 policy agenda to include advocacy and lobbying for abortion rights - despite the fact that the County Public Health Department has never been engaged in this kind of work and despite the fact that it does not so much as offer a family planning or STI testing clinic. With less than 20 hours of notice, we were able to identify key leaders and activate the community, and the measure was pulled from the agenda. We also went up against Columbus' big abortion agenda and won a few years ago, when this same council member attempted to make it illegal to pray outside of an abortion clinic.

I try to limit our online appeals for donations, especially so soon after our in-person banquet. However, we have thousands of e-news friends who did not attend our banquet and who are not on our regular mail list, and I want to share with you the reality: Our whole state, but especially Central Ohio, needs the leadership of local organizations who can fight back to make sure that tax dollars are not filling abortion slush funds, that fanatics are not working to close pregnancy help centers, and that the dialog on abortion has a fair shot in the public square. We cannot do that without the funds to expand into that area. Can you donate $50, $100, or even $1000 right now? Or make a pledge of just $10 a month. Anything and everything will help.

The attacks are going to keep coming - as evidenced by today's announcement. We have the talent and the know-how to fight these battles, but we need to build out our resources - including staff. We do not have millions of dollars from the city or billionaires like Mackenzie Scott and George Soros, but we have you, and we need your help.

If you would like to give a tax-exempt donation to support our work like sidewalk ministry, end-of-life education, apologetics, and spiritual development, you can make that gift here. This is a really great option if you itemize your deductions at the end of the year or if you give through a foundation like the Catholic or Columbus Foundations.

To learn about, support, or sign up for alerts to for our non-tax-exempt C(4) organization, you can do so here. Note that this website is in the process of transferring to a permanent home at www.gcrtlact.org, so if you are reading this a few days from now you may try that. That website provides not only the option to support the c4 group, but it will provide a way to keep in touch and receive action alerts and more frequent communication.

We also have a few hundred tickets remaining for our Bocelli raffle, a project that supports our tax-exempt fund.

If you have any questions about our work, about where to direct funds, or about how to volunteer with us, please respond to this email or contact our office.

Always for Life,

Beth

PS: Thank you to so many who have reached out in support and in prayers after my recent interview with EWTN's Teresa Tomeo. We will continue to report on this situation as the story develops. If you missed it, you can listen to the archive here.

I meant to send this weekend's update with notes from my recent trip to DC, where I had the opportunity to rejoice, reflect, and strategize with some of the nation's leading pro-life leaders and friends and to make a mini pilgrimage to the National Basilica. I'll send that update soon, but until then, please continue to pray for pro-life voices every single day.

Stay tuned...