TROY, Ohio -- Rarely did we hear about any political turmoil at the city level in my hometown of Troy, which lies on the Great Miami River in southwest Ohio. Occasionally, there were protests in favor of banning abortion outside of John Boehner’s Miami County office during his tenure as Speaker of the House, but for the most part, it was a quiet town. That is, until the election of our 45th president, which seemingly changed the very fibers of our city. At the helm of Troy’s political turmoil now is the fight to gain control of a woman’s reproductive rights and undermine the Supreme Court ruling on Roe v. Wade.
The leader of this fight is Christopher Harshbarger, a white male resident of Troy who has been advocating for the city to become a “sanctuary city for the unborn” since June 4. Mr. Harshbarger seeks an ordinance to “outlaw the murder of unborn children.” He has been open about the possible litigation and lawsuits the city could face in passing such an ordinance. Even the mayor of Troy, Robin Oda, during a City Council meeting in August, voiced her concerns about trying to ban abortion clinics through zoning laws similar to those the city of Troy tried to use to ban strip joints. The strip-joint law was later ruled unconstitutional.
Harshbarger’s advocacy has sparked the discussions throughout Troy that I have been having with people in my hometown. The stories I have heard come from both sides of the coin -- against abortion and from others who have received an abortion. One story that stuck with me was a woman who tried three times to have a child, but all three pregnancies had to result in abortion because of a medical condition that could otherwise have resulted in fatality, both for her and the child. At the end of the day, these were decisions that she, her family and her doctor had to make. The lifesaving treatment allowed her to be living today and the proud mother of three wonderful children through adoption.
The fight that Harshbarger continues to wage reflects a religious agenda that would have no effect on his day-to-day life. This conflict has come to a precipice, despite the decrease in abortion since the Roe v. Wade decision and easy access to contraception.
Harshbarger makes an across-the-board argument of the dangers posed by abortion for women, for Blacks and for our democracy. But in a country that thrives on equality and individual choice, his arguments boil down to it being women, not Christopher Harshbarger, who will be the only individuals to lose their power of choice.
Kane Feltner is an activist in Troy, Ohio.
Often do my grandparents reflect on the news they remember from before Roe v. Wade -- of women dying from back-alley abortions and crossing the border from California to Mexico to receive an abortion. The truth is that women will have abortions whether it’s legal or not, but one route will lead women into unsafe practices to receive an abortion. The true fight should be promoting contraception and to prevent women from being in that situation. We must protect women’s right to choose, including to choose safe medical procedures.
Bruce Springsteen said it so eloquently on the podcast “Renegades: Born in the USA:” “You are a part of the general flow of history, and as such what is happening and what has happened is partly your responsibility.... You were tied in historically to the good and the bad things that have happened, not just in our little town, but in our country. And, as an active player at this moment in time, you have some power to acknowledge these things and perhaps do something about them in some small way.”
The change we seek can only happen if we become more active in our local politics through advocating and voting. If we don’t, the few like Chris Harshbarger will continue to dictate the political climate in hometowns like mine. Be brave, speak out and vote!
Kane Feltner is an activist and secretary for the Troy Freedom Chasers in Troy, Ohio.
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