CV NEWS FEED // A video ad supporting the pro-abortion side in Ohio’s November Issue 1 vote features footage of a man kneeling and praying underneath a prominently-displayed Divine Mercy image of Christ in what appears to be a Catholic church.

The 30-second ad was made by Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights (OURR). The pro-abortion interest group seems to have been created exclusively for the upcoming referendum. OURR only joined X (formerly known as Twitter) in February.

At the beginning of the ad is a montage of several video clips, including a man praying in what is most likely a Catholic church. A female narrator states, “When we face personal medical decisions, we depend on our doctors, our faith, our family, and the last thing we want is the government making those decisions for us.” 

The shot of a man in a church pew with his hands folded in prayer flashes as the narrator says the words “our faith.” The Image of Divine Mercy is visibly seen in the background directly behind the man. To his right are most likely pictures of the Stations of the Cross.

CatholicVote Vice President Josh Mercer said the footage was an “outrageous insult” to the Catholic Church. “If there’s one group in America that can most clearly be recognized as opposing abortion, it’s the Catholic Church,” Mercer said. “It says so right in our Catechism, and our leaders – from the pope in Rome to our bishops here in the U.S. – constantly speak out against abortion.”

“They knew exactly what they were doing with this ad,” Mercer added. “They’re using a beautiful image familiar to all of us Catholics to mislead Catholic voters. They’re showing us in prayer and an image of Divine Mercy, and then ‘Vote Yes.’ It’s absolutely an act of deception, and they need to take it down.”

As of press time, the church featured in the ad has yet to be identified, and it is unknown if it is even located in Ohio.

The clip was in the video for only about a second and can be seen four seconds in. The ad is unlisted on YouTube, meaning it does not show up in search results but is still accessible with a direct link.

According to the web affiliate of The Cincinnati Enquirer:

The ad buy is nearly $687,000 for the week, including $123,750 on cable and $563,180 on network television in the Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland markets, according to Medium Buying, a Columbus-based ad buying and tracking company.

The ad buy marks the first of the November campaign. Ohio is the only state with an abortion issue on the ballot this fall.

OURR describes itself as a “ballot committee” and “coalition of statewide reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations” formed by various groups, such as the Ohio affiliates of the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. 

The Endorsements page of the group’s website shows that they are supported by the widely discredited organization Catholics for Choice, which has been called an “anti-Catholic Catholic group.”

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