Thousands of Pro-Life People in Cincinnati Area Stand Against Abortion

If you are not from the Cincinnati area you may not be familiar with Cincituckey. It’s the area around the border of Ohio and Kentucky connected by several bridges over the Ohio River.

This past Sunday, on a beautiful afternoon, I joined thousands of faithful pro-lifers from both states as we gathered for the 20^th annual Cross the Bridge for Life. The crowd was full of pastors, priests, nuns, local politicians and families all coming together in unity to stand for Jesus and for life.

One of the first people I met up with was Cory Bowman, a Republican who is running for mayor of Cincinnati. We talked about the importance of standing boldly for pro-life and not backing down from our stance.

Bowman’s name might not be familiar to those outside Ohio but he has a very well-known brother, Vice President JD Vance. The two men share a father, Donald Bowman, but have different last names because the vice president eventually took the last name of his maternal grandparents, Bonnie and James Vance.

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Bowman, 36, is the founding co-pastor of a non-denominational Christian church. Among the campaign priorities listed on his website is “safeguarding the unborn.”

In the November election, he will challenge popular incumbent Aftab Pureval, who, immediately after the fall of Roe v. Wade, stood with representatives of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio to say he would repeal a 2001 law barring the city from covering abortion in its health insurance. I’ll be praying for Bowman’s success.

Also in attendance was Laura Strietmann, executive director of Cincinnati Right to Life, who showed off a mobile pregnancy help van owned by our friends at Created Equal that travels around Ohio. Many other pregnancy help centers, churches and pro-life organizations also had booths at the event. Archbishop Robert Casey of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and Bishop John Iffert of the Diocese of Covington both took part in the festival and walk.

After a concert and talks, the walk started in Kentucky and then crossed the half-mile-long, pedestrian-only Purple People Bridge to Ohio. The crowd then returned to the Kentucky side of the former railroad bridge for more talks, food and activities for kids.

Voters in Ohio approved a pro-abortion constitutional amendment in 2023 and in Kentucky, a pro-life amendment stating that nothing in the state constitution guaranteed a right to abortion was defeated in 2022. Abortion remains legal until 22 weeks in Ohio but a Kentucky law enacted after the fall of Roe v. Wade that allows abortion only under certain severe medical circumstances remains in effect and just two days before the Bridge event, pro-lifers in the state got some good news: The ACLU, without explanation, dropped a lawsuit seeking to overturn the protective law.

The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services reported just 23 abortions in 2023, all deemed medically necessary, compared to 4,441 in 2021 when abortion was fully legal. In 2023, Ohio saw 22,000 abortions, an increase of 19 percent over the previous year.

Cross the Bridge for Life provided a perfect Sunday afternoon to gather with so many committed, passionate people and clergy to take a stand for life. Now more than ever we must stand united against the abortion industry and be a light for Christ.

Crossing a bridge shouldn’t mean the difference between life and death.

LifeNews Note: Bryan Kemper is the director of youth outreach and street activism for Priests for Life and the founder of its youth outreach Stand True. He is the author of Pro-life is the New Punk Rock.

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