Last Tuesday at the Ohio Statehouse, amidst the normal hustle and bustle of legislators, lobbyists and visitors of all kinds, a small group of people gathered next to the Map Room beneath a sign that read “Great Ohioans”.  It was a group of families from the Holy Family Catholic Homeschool Group based out of Shelby and Mercer counties in mid-west Ohio.  

The families have the custom of visiting the statehouse not only to provide an opportunity for their children to learn about the legislative process in Ohio, but also to educate them specifically on pro-life laws.  So, the group set aside time to hear from Ohio Right to Life Director of Legislative Affairs, Stephanie Krider, and Director of External Affairs, Erin Cain.  

The presentation progressed within the echoing halls of the lower level of the Statehouse, filled with the energy and excitement of laws being made. The ORTL staffers shared about the laws currently moving through the legislative process that will, once enacted, save the lives of hundreds of unborn children.  They shared about the organization's programs in action to make Ohio a state where life is respected and revered as a gift from God.  

Though it was difficult for the voices of the ORTL employees to carry over the surrounding noise, the children of this homeschool group heard their message, thanks to the structure of the group: the parents and taller children stood on the outside, while the younger children stood looking upward from the inner circle.  

They were more than just another one of the multiple tour groups that flood the Statehouse each day as the parents provided the shield from the pervading noise and their children soaked in this message of Life.  As such, with the parents creating an opportunity for their children to be educated by the gospel of life, they serve as a representation of the beauty and absolute necessity of family within the pro-life movement.  

Even though the group merely found the "Great Ohioans" sign as a convenient meeting place, it ironically depicted the group of people that gathered beneath it.  The pro-life movement is made of men and women who uphold the values of respect, compassion and love and pass them onto their children, just as the parents of the Holy Family Catholic Homeschool Group do to their children.  For this, the movement continues to travel ever-closer to the goal of bringing an end to abortion and other practices that generate the culture of death.  Ohio Right to Life thanks these Great Families, for from them emerge the Great Ohioans that continue to fight for Life in our state.

Posted by Rachel Schlater on 4/14/11