by Jeff Schinstock
A new ballot initiative to amend the Nebraska State Constitution is on the way. The initiative, called the “Protect the Right to Abortion Constitutional Amendment” is currently in the petition stage gathering signatures. Here in Nebraska, we need to take this seriously. Every abortion ballot initiative that has come to a vote in any state since the overturning of Roe v. Wade has gone to the pro-abortion side – all of them.
We need to take it seriously because there is going to be an enormous amount of money poured into our state with the intention of increasing the number of unborn innocent humans who are killed in the womb. The initiative is being sponsored by a group called “Protect Our Rights.” The group includes Planned Parenthood North Central States, the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska, I Be Black Girl and the Women’s Fund of Omaha. What I can tell you about this group is that they are serious and they are well funded.
I want to be a messenger of hope. We can win this with the help of God. I am not native to Nebraska. I moved here 15 years ago, uncertain of what the future looked like for my family, but to pursue an opportunity. I fell in love with the people here. In working for our diocese, I have been blessed to travel through all of it and meet our great people. The people of Nebraska are good. Now is the time to put our great faith to work.
Among my favorite scripture passages to pray with when things get tough comes from the book of Romans (5:3-5):
“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.”
I think this can be a real light to those of us seeking to protect life in our state. God’s grace builds on the nature he has given us and I believe this passage gives us a direction for our prayer.
Nebraskans have suffered post-Roe, beginning with more than 2,000 Nebraskans who were aborted each year, their mothers and their families. We suffered through the political process after overturning Roe. Before passing a 12-week abortion ban, an even better bill that was more pro-life appeared ready to be passed. A last-minute switch put everything in jeopardy. In this moment, I was blessed to watch the endurance of Nebraska pro-lifers in action. A real good was pulled from the fires of political struggle, and our character was indeed made better. As we have been promised, “character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint.”
This struggle is not over, but we are built to win, regardless of the resources of our adversaries. But we need to be real evangelists of the good news. There is a lot of good news. Our parishes have become even more educated on the good that we do in our diocese for women in difficult situations. We have done so, bringing with us Jesus Christ, who is Truth Himself.
Make no mistake, the truth is under attack. We will hear many things about women who have miscarriages. The medical term for a miscarriage is “spontaneous abortion.” Pro-life Nebraskans want to be good neighbors and friends to those who suffer such a tragedy. We would never seek to punish them, and to pretend we would exploits those who are suffering and is an attack on the truth.
We will hear about the life of the mother or rape and incest. The truth is that these scenarios add up to a tiny portion of abortions that have happened in Nebraska and the country. It will be presented as the reason we should vote for the majority of abortions to occur.
This particular amendment pretends to protect the so-called right to abortion only up to viability. Its supporters then define viability as “the point in pregnancy when, in the professional judgement of the patient’s health care practicioner, there is a significant likelihood of the fetus’ sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.” This word salad means that viability is determined by the abortionist, who is not actually going to have regular meetings with the mother. In fact, it is likely that the mother will see the abortionist only at the time of the procedure.
Stay vigilant, friends. It is time to add to our prayers and to become the source of hope for those who do not know where they stand. The truth himself will fight with us if we stay faithful.
