In Centerville, Ohio, pro-abortion vandals spray-painted the front-door window at Incarnation Catholic Church on Oct. 18, according to the archdiocese. The parish had displayed a sign that encouraged Ohioans to vote no on the abortion referendum.
The vandals spray-painted over the window where the sign was displayed and painted the message “Vote yes,” encouraging voters to support the abortion referendum. They also wrote “Issue 1: Enshrine abortion into the Ohio Constitution” and “Parents have the right to choose.”
Between the evening of Oct. 29 and the morning of Oct. 30, pro-abortion activists removed between six and eight “vote no” signs displayed at St. Bartholomew Church in Cincinnati and replaced them with “vote yes” signs, according to the archdiocese. The parish quickly removed the “vote yes” campaign signs and put new “vote no” signs on the property.
In Oxford, the archdiocese noted that an 8-foot-by-8-foot display sign was cut in half and another sign half that size was vandalized at St. Mary’s Church. Every week, there have been multiple reports of pro-life yard signs being stolen.
Other incidents included a large “vote no” sign pulled up out of the ground and thrown in a trash dumpster at St. Monica-St. George Church in Clifton. The sign was found and put back up on the property but later stolen. Several yard signs were stolen from the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains in Cincinnati and a display on its fence was vandalized.
The referendum vote, which takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 7, is less than one week away, but early voting has already begun. Voting yes on Issue 1 would amend the Ohio Constitution to add a new right to “reproductive freedom,” which includes “abortion” and “contraception,” among other things. Voting no on Issue 1 would prevent this language from being added to the constitution.