Several Ohio legislators are planning to participate in an anti-abortion rally in Dayton Tuesday, ahead of next week’s March for Life, a national anti-abortion rally planned for the National Mall in Washington D.C.
The Dayton event is being organized by State Representative Niraj Antani (R– Miamisburg) and State Senator Peggy Lehner (R–Kettering). Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted is expected to deliver the rally’s keynote address.
Husted says he plans to speak about adoption as an alternative to abortion and share the story of his own adoption as an infant.
“There is a growing awareness of the need to change hearts and minds [about abortion], and not just do it only through legislation,” says Husted.
Pro-choice groups have expressed concern about the prospect of more national anti-abortion legislation, with Republicans now in control of both houses of Congress and the White House.
This week’s anti-abortion rally follows a weekend of women’s marches in cities around the country, including one in downtown Dayton.
Dayton Right to Life, and the Dayton chapter of the group 40 Days for Life helped organize the Dayton rally. It's scheduled for Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 5:30 p.m., outside the Dayton Women’s Med Center in Kettering.
The Women’s Med Center is the region’s only abortion clinic. For the last few years it’s been at the center of a legislative battle over Ohio abortion laws.