They Had It Comin’: Division in Ohio’s Anti-Abortion Industry

After a 2023 ballot initiative confirmed that anti-abortion sentiment is a minority position in Ohio, the state’s anti-abortion industrial complex split into two fairly distinct ideological camps. Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams explore the rift between Ohio’s “Pro-Life Movement” and their foil, the “Abolish Human Abortion” sect — including why those names are better classed as propaganda than truly descriptive.

Drawing on strong theological reflection, the history of U.S. reproductive rights, and basic grade-school logic, Kelley and Terry take listeners through the break-up we all knew was coming as the anti-abortion rhetoric starts to not make sense even to its own practitioners.

Links to discussed content:

• Ohio lawmakers propose bill that would grant legal personhood at moment of fertilization: www.athensmessenger.com/news/ohio-lawmakers-propose-bill-that-would-grant-legal-personhood-at-moment-of-fertilization/article_3c08abc5-bcdd-4609-b9e8-f9fead53ddfb.html
• Inside the latest challenge to Ohio’s reproductive rights amendment: www.cleveland.com/news/2025/06/inside-the-latest-challenge-to-ohios-reproductive-rights-amendment.html
• Anti-abortion ‘abolitionists’ take slavery rhetoric to the next level: https://georgiarecorder.com/2023/09/02/anti-abortion-abolitionists-take-slavery-rhetoric-to-the-next-level/
• This Ohio Turf War Is the Latest Sign That the Anti-Abortion Movement Is in Disarray: www.thenation.com/article/politics/ohio-abortion-constitutional-amendment/tnamp/
• R-Soul Episode 7: Liver & Onions (and Abortion): https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/liver-and-onions-and-abortions/
• Restorative & Transformative Justice Training: www.faithchoiceohio.org/restorative-and-transformative-justice-training

Music by Korbin Jones