I am in an ad supporting Issue 1. Cruelty of 'Christians' opposing it is staggering

Rev. Tim Ahrens is senior minister at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in downtown Columbus. He is the author of "The Genius of Justice."

Since early October, I have had the unique position of being the only Ohio religious leader in an ad running statewide on TV and radio in support of adding a constitutional amendment to the Ohio Constitution protecting women’s reproductive rights.

Because of that ad, I have received many positive communications supporting me in the effort. I have also received hundreds of negative phone messages, emails and letters.

The hate and cruelty of these communications has been staggering.

All of these have come from “Christians” who have taken it upon themselves to be judge and jury over my eternal soul. The people opposing Issue 1 have shown me their true colors – hate in the name of Jesus.

With the exception of a few people crying out to me to “come to my senses and believe as they believe,” well over 325 people have spewed hatred. You cannot brow beat, lie, and threaten me or Ohio into voting "no" on issue 1.

Love wins over hate.

I believe this with my whole heart.

A woman's right to her own body is at stake.

By Tuesday, Nov. 7, all registered voters in Ohio are being called to decide where we stand on women’s reproductive rights.

In the process we call “an initiative” we will either add or not add the amendment. Reproductive rights and bodily autonomy are critical choices for all women of all ages.

I believe in access to safe, affordable and legal abortions.

I believe that the person who can best make this decision is the person who is thoughtfully, prayerfully, and faithfully considering this decision. I know this belief is faithful to the Christianity and Judaism and many other world religions and faith traditions.

Abortion is not treated as a form of birth control.

As a pastor and friend for those facing these decisions through the years, I have walked through these choices with people. I have known people whose decision was to access abortion and continuing reproductive care.

Some have been emotionally overwhelmed by this, and some have not been. Some grieve and some celebrate their hard decision. No person I have ever known as a pastor, has approached abortion as a form of birth control. No one has made this hard choice lightly.

More: Issue 1 opponents want Ohio to have the most extreme abortion ban in US. Don't let them.

I believe the government should not be in the business of making decisions about reproductive rights for any of us. No matter what your gender, I believe every person I encounter, including myself, has the right and responsibility to care for their own body.

The mother's life matters.

Moreover, when that bodily autonomy is taken away, this action runs counter to the Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospel of Jesus Christ which I follow and trust.

I have and will always be grateful to the teachings of Judaism on this question.

In Genesis and Deuteronomy God calls people to choose life.

For more than 5,784 years, two central truths have survived the test of time: First, the pregnant person’s life takes precedence over the fetus.

Second, every case is dealt with on its own merit, on a case-by-case basis.

Jewish law cares about the diversity of experience, and just as every person was created in the divine image, so is every pregnancy regarded as totally unique. The halachic - Jewish legal - term which values the mother’s life above the fetus is called tza’ar gufah kadim - literally, the suffering (tza’ar) of the pregnant person’s body (gufah) comes first (kadim).

Moving from Genesis and Deuteronomy to the New Testament, the theme of care for our bodies and ourselves as sacred work, yes, Godly work, continues.

I Corinthians 6:19 says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”

As our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, God blesses us to have the right to choose over our body, and the freedom to make the decisions that are rightly protect our bodies for service in God’s name.

We will all have a decision to make before or on Tuesday, November 7. I encourage you to get out and vote.

I hope Ohio comes to its senses, overturns, and overrides the regressive policies our regressive state legislature has put in place to control women and their autonomous choices over their bodies.

I want my 95-year-old mother, my sister, my wife, my daughters, my daughter-in-law, my granddaughters and all the women in your family to be safe in this state. I believe this Constitutional amendment will advance the protection of the women in my family and women in families across Ohio.

Please join me and millions of other Ohioans in voting “yes” on Issue 1 to protect women’s reproductive rights.

Rev. Tim Ahrens is senior minister at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in downtown Columbus. He is the author of "The Genius of Justice."

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Christians' use Jesus to spew hate at pastor over Ohio abortion ad