Okay, can we have a motion to adjourn from executive session?
Second.
It's been moved and seconded to adjourn at 7.35.
We'll need a voice vote. All those in favor indicate by saying aye.
Aye.
Opposed?
Thank you.
We'll move now to the pledge of allegiance.
I invite you to join us if you would like.
Thank you. And our first item is approval of the agenda. Can I have a motion?
Second.
It's been moved and seconded to approve the printed agenda, any good changes or adjustments.
All those in favor say aye.
All opposed.
Gender is approved at this time.
The mayor has a pen that doesn't work.
At this time, we will move to public participation,
and we're really glad that you're here.
The first thing in public participation
is a proclamation that I'm happy to read, whereas Oxford has always embraced the many cultures
and peoples that make our country so diverse and Hispanic Latino Americans are one of
the fastest growing groups in the country. And whereas as a result of their determination and
intelligence hard work and perseverance, Hispanic Latino Americans have contributed immensely
to the growth of our country, helping to shape the character and future of the state. And whereas
The cultural, educational, and political influences of Hispanic Latino Americans can be seen
and appreciated in all aspects of our life.
From farm workers, struggles for housing and equal wages to incredible and gifted artists,
vibrant businesses, music, and community festivals.
And whereas the Hispanic Latino American community has a long and important history of
commitment to our nation's core values, and the contributions of this community have advanced
the city of Oxford in our country's expansion of intercultural relations of diverse
minded individuals civically engaged toward building inclusive just
and sustainable civil societies. During national Hispanic heritage month,
we celebrate the many achievements of Hispanic Latino Americans
and recognize their contributions to our country.
And whereas national Hispanic heritage month is an opportunity to celebrate
the spirit and accomplishments of Hispanic Latino Americans everywhere.
To honor those achievements, the Congress, by public law 10402, as amended, has authorized
and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation, designating September 15th through
October 15th, as National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Now therefore, I will be significantly mayor of the city of Oxford, Ohio, do hereby proclaim
September 15th through October 15th, 2022, as National Hispanic Latino American Heritage Month
and the City of Oxford, and urge all citizens to join me in celebrating the significant contributions
of Hispanic Latino Americans in our country by participating in the activities and events
planned for this important occasion. Among those is a festival coming up and I hope that everyone
will be a part of that. So that's him. I want to say a week and a
answer. 30 of the out. So is there someone who would like to?
Good evening, everyone.
I just want to say gracias. Thank you to everyone for
this recognition of the Hispanic Latino American Heritage Man. He's a
for us, how in the opportunity to celebrate this every year in a community like Oxford that
will come in as and Latinos, Latinx community is growing steadily and is strong. More than ever
within our university and within Oxford. Thank you again for all you do for our community and
We look forward to working on everyone, this Friday, September 30th, you will see a lot of surprises.
And I hope you are invited also to dance with us.
Thank you.
Our next item is a notice to legislative authority.
New permits.
C1 and C2.
First, I get ink on speech streets.
I would entertain a motion.
do we see without a comment?
Is there any comments?
Hearing none of those in favor say aye.
Aye.
Opposed.
Thank you.
At this time, we will move to public comments.
That's where you get involved if you'd like to.
Anyone wishing to address Council about items that are not on the agenda or they're on the consent agenda.
Please come forward at this time and give us your name and address for the record.
And we give you five minutes and you can say whatever you want, but we treat everybody the same.
So when you get the five minutes, you'll see me.
So if it would anyone, yeah.
Come on forward.
Good evening.
In the spring of September.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Carol Michael.
409 East Chestnut Street in Oxford, Ohio.
Thank you.
In the spring of 2005, I went to the city of Oxford and said,
we have to do something to prevent such waste.
all the items thrown away by Miami University students and vision and organization that would
have three purposes. Pass on useful unwanted items from Miami University students moving
out at the end of the academic year to people in need teach Miami University students to
pass things on to others rather than throwing them away and help protect our environment
by preventing these items from going into the landfill.
So, sheriff us is born 17 years ago.
This year's sheriff us was held from Thursday, May 12th to Tuesday, May 17th.
And nine organization charities took part.
Goodwill, who helps in individuals and families,
develop skills and employment, provide low cost items,
give the dignity and stake those communities, collected 56 tons,
tops, the talent on Oxford Pantry and Social Services,
works to help families alleviate hunger and make nutritious food choices.
They gathered 2.74 tons.
Open hands, pantry, and Hamilton collected items for their summer harvest program, which
gives families with children extra food for the summer, while schools out.
Part few arms resident council helps low income residents with food resources and information.
They collected 0.95 tons.
Zero-Waste Oxford Student Organization collected 0.05 tons,
Cohen recycling, gathered 0.92 tons, National Coalition
Against Domestic Violence, collected nine cell phones,
and Butler County Success Hub's families overcome barriers
and children to be successful in school.
They collected 15, 7, 5 tons, new life furniture bank helps
furnish empty homes and families overcoming homelessness.
They collected 2.3 tons and one of my farm's health's children who have been abused and
neglected, abandoned, or troubled, and they're in Hamilton and they have a thrift store and
they collected 4.6 tons.
So all together, we received a total estimated donation of 75.7175 tons.
It
takes a whole community to make sure effects success and I have a lot of people to thank.
First, I want to thank the Sheriff's Board, Sam Perry, who's here tonight, Karen Baker,
Rob Abelwitz, who helps manage the on-campus collection, Shantel, Raghu, Shantel, Rose and
Burger, and a lot of size more, site coordinators, Rob Rollins, Carol Cass, and Alice
a lot. She was representing top. She was there much of the hours of the whole event.
Pick up volunteers, Kate was them in a year for Parkview Arms, Jim Michael, Angela Koopjep
for Topps, Theresa, but Domescape Bomba for Miami Honors Program, Jeff McDonnell, Leo Wachford,
Moses and her daughter, Sherry House and Betsy Walker for Parkview Arms Residence,
Association, Alicia Costello for Brestona, Miami Global Studies and Sherry Martin for Topps.
Volunteer groups that help 23 student athletes in the coach from TELLON to tennis teams and softball team.
15 volunteers from Ogunand's Food Pantry, five from one way farm, six people from new life furniture bank,
five students from zero ways Oxford Student Organization and four volunteers from Klanis.
Payed staff, goodwill provided about 10 staff to help.
Total estimated volunteers at least 75.
The number of drop-offs from off-campus that they share
Fest-Sight by students, 162 drop-offs by parents, 46, and by the Oxford
Community, who can also just donate because they have extra
things, 62. Thank you to everyone who donated to
Share Fest this year. And the Share Fest site at Chessent
Fields is provided that no cost by my university. Thank you to
my university. This year we face some of the real challenges, first
because of COVID, people staying isolated.
In many of our traditional miles,
square volunteers are aging out from collecting.
Our on-campus pick-up went pretty well,
but the off-campus was more challenging.
We need to attract a whole new group
of younger volunteers to help us collect in the future.
And we need to reeducate my university students
about share fest and the tremendous good they can do
by donating and getting involved.
We hope for a bigger harvest next spring.
Thank you for your support.
Sure best.
Thank you, Carol.
Thank you.
Anyone have any questions?
And thank you for sharing that.
The list.
We appreciate it.
Thank you.
Would anyone else like to address Council on items not on the agenda tonight?
Good evening.
I'm Anne Fure.
I live at 1345 Dana Drive.
My professional role is facilitator for the local 501.
three non-profit Oxford citizens for peace and justice.
For the last nine months, two other members of our board, Karen Francis and Linda Simmons,
and I have been meeting and acting as an informal homelessness network in Oxford.
We have met with key stakeholders in Oxford and Butler County to identify ways of increasing
public awareness about the people at any time about 100 individuals and families are identified
by service providers as being homeless in Oxford. During my two and a half years as director
of tops the local food pantry, I became aware of the plight of the 8 to 10% of our customers
members who have no permanent residents.
We have confirmed what I knew then that a number of organizations are doing good work to provide
resources to those who are homeless.
Most notably the Family Resource Center, but also the Telewanda School District and the Oxford
Police Department.
Several weeks ago, we met with Chief Jones and the new social services liaison in the police department, Ashley Woodell,
and we were very impressed with Ashley's background and the fact that she was on top of things with business cards after only a few days on the job.
Since then, we were able to introduce her to Nicola Rodriguez, the interim director of the Family Resource Center,
to assist with an individual with whom Ashley was working.
There is considerable need for networking in the community,
and that's something that we have and can facilitate.
On September 8th, city manager Elliott,
I did thank him and want to thank him again,
for generously giving us time to meet with members
of the City Civil Rights Commission at their quarterly meeting.
We had a lively 75-minute discussion about whether to think of housing as a civil right for people who are unhoused and living in poverty, neither of which of course is a protected class of people.
The views of the participants were complex and useful to us in thinking about engaging in a larger public.
A comment made by Mr. Elliott during that meeting affirmed a concern that I had about the sustainability of local services.
He indicated this city was not sure about what would be done this year about the cold shelter, which has over the last two years operated from November.
Through February or March. As you know, there is no other shelter option in Oxford. No other formal shelter option.
On Thursday this week, I'm meeting with Nicole Rodriguez, the interim director of the Family Resource Center, to discuss the role of private citizens in supporting the good work of the Family Resource Center.
The wraparound services provided by them by the center to all of their clients, including
the 101 unhoused clients they served in 2021, are crucial to success for all of those clients.
Looking at the landscape of service providers in Oxford, it is crucial that the work of
the Family Resource Center be adequately supported.
It is my understanding that yesterday's meeting, the Housing Advisory Commission also discussed
the uncertain status of the Cold Shelter this year.
Two years ago, members and friends, I think was about 70 individuals.
Of OCPJ raised $14,000 to enable the Cold Shelter to operate in additional month and
to provide housing assistance to other FRC clients.
this is not a sustainable source of financial support, but it does reflect concern among members
of the community for the well-being of those who are on house. So, I'm here to be a greasy
will or not a greasy feel. I don't even know what it's called, sorry, all for a greasy will.
A squeaky will. I look forward to hearing more about the city's discussion of support for
valuable community resource or an alternative to it in the future. Thank you. Thank you,
and also
thank you for having exactly five minutes. That's pretty good. I don't think it's coming
by that close. Anyone else wish to address Council tonight? Okay, if you're here and wish
to speak on an item that's on the agenda, I'll recognize you then. So thank you for coming.
We will move them to the consent agenda and I would entertain a motion to approve it.
Second, it's been moved in seconded. Are there any items to be removed?
Hearing none, all those in favor of approving the consent agenda say aye.
Aye, aye.
Thank you.
The consent agenda is approved.
And we will move to resolutions.
You may read the first resolution.
A resolution of counsel supporting the submission of a grant application for Ohio Public Works Commission issue number one.
Funds to be used for the design and reconstruction of the storm conduit on car road.
Thank you very much Mike.
So, good evening.
Good evening.
Several years ago, we did a lot of erosion control work on current room and creed.
and the Syrians just south of where we stopped.
There's some erosion that is affecting the shoulder
of the roadway and the edge line of the pavement.
So we need to arrest that and replace that conduit
and so we head walls and foot walls of that location.
We believe this project will score well
with the public works commission.
If you want to close the application,
We believe the project will cost about $250,000,
of which $147,500, we believe we can get with Grant Fund.
The rest of the local funds we plan to apply to Butler County
to get our license plate and fees which are
key in the lighting at the auditor's office.
So really, we'll have a net zero impact on our local budget.
So we're asking for your permission to make an application to public works commission for this project.
Okay.
We'd like to answer any questions.
Thank you very much.
Is there anyone for the public who would like to address this resolution?
Seeing none.
Question.
I need an option.
I went right past that.
I do need a motion to approve the resolution.
Thank you.
Second.
This has been moved in second.
it. Now, if there's anybody from the public, don't see anybody
hopping up, discussion by council. Thanks, and good luck. Always
glad when those are coming along. All those in favor of the
Resolution say I, I post, good luck, maybe second. A resolution and
support of the Ohio Department of Transportation's Branch
inspection program and authorizing the city manager to sign all agreements necessary for the city to participate in the program.
Okay, and is there a motion to adopt this?
It's been moved in seconded.
So we have participated in this program before with ODOT.
Our current agreement expires at the end of this year.
ODOT has funding to continue to project for another three years.
So we're asking your permission, really no rest in the city.
To continue our partnership with Oda,
and allow them to inspect our local bridges and corners
at no charge for the city.
Is there anyone from the public who would like to address
this resolution?
Sing them counsel?
Yeah.
We might visit this hill where we provide the right sort of state.
Like the particular part of the issue that you're using as your point on the grant.
Yes, we have a detailed inspection report.
That information can be used depending on the severity of the defect.
We'll give you more points on future applications.
So yes.
Appreciate it.
Further discussion?
All those in favor indicate by saying aye.
I post, Resolution is adopted, moved to the third.
Resolution is accepting the amounts and rates as determined by the budget commission
of Butler County, Ohio, and authorizing the necessary tax levies and certifying them
to the county auditor.
Sir, motion to adopt this resolution.
So, man.
I can.
It's been moved in second.
Thank you.
Hi, Joe.
Okay, this is an annual resolution we bring a council that's initiated by the county
auditor's office and it's just certifying our inside village of 3.6 by which generates
about $1,420,000 for the general fund and then the outside village of 3.25 which is
set aside for the Oxford area trail fund which brings in about 1.1 million dollars.
And then after this goes through, they'll send another resolution I'll bring to ask for
advance payment on property taxes, and that usually happens sometimes in November.
Not just helps with their cash line.
Something to look forward to.
Yeah, okay. Thank you. Did we have a motion on that slide?
I think we did. I think we did. I think we did.
Good. Is there anyone from the public who's like to address this resolution? Council.
Ready? Okay. All of us in favor say aye.
Aye. Aye.
Opps.
Thank you.
Let's read number four.
Resolution authorizing the city manager to enter into an agreement
cooperation with Fettler County Ohio, pursuant to the provisions of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974 as revised.
Okay, is there a motion to adopt your resolution?
Thank you.
It's been moved and seconded.
Welcome, Sam.
Good evening.
Hello, everyone.
You may remember from the June meeting, this exact same, nearly exact same resolution
on the agenda.
So we receive somewhat adult blue phone call from Butler County that there was an error that the Department of Housing and Urban Development
Pot that we could not have on the agreement any longer.
So which came comes in the nick of time because Butler County would like this resolution tomorrow.
So that 10% is taken out.
It's still this amount of money, hopefully would be about the same amount.
But by taking that out, it removes that foregone conclusion that Butler County commissioners would not be able to then vote on it.
and be able to comment and discuss it.
So that's really all it is.
Everything else is the same.
We've been doing this, but the county has set
recipient for almost 25 years.
So it's housekeeping.
It is.
Okay, thank you.
Sir, anyone from the public who would like to address
this resolution?
Thank you.
Council, let me in the discussion.
Just for Dr. Beerus, point.
This is housekeeping because we can't refer to
some kind of specific money we get from the county.
But what's going to be different is in the past, we've used CBBG monies and dedicated all of them towards the conversion of our ADA ramps.
But that is the source of funding. We will have that can be applied specifically to the sorts of things that Dr. Fierre is talking about, addressing housing or homeless or other needs.
the CDBG may be a source of dedicated funding year after year that we can now move towards housing
in ways we've not been able to do that. Whether what we use it will be a separate question,
but we'll have more capacity to address housing issues. And you'll be saying a resolution
in the next couple months for next year's request. So thanks for bringing that up. Thank you Sam.
Are you ready to vote? All those are favor and decay by saying aye.
We have a resolution of dissent that we'll have you read.
The resolution of dissent against the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn
real-be-waid in of support for the reproductive freedom.
Okay, is there a motion to adopt?
Second.
It's been moved in second.
I will refer this to the maker of the motion if you'd like to say some words about it.
I have a lot of words to say, should I say that before public comment?
Yeah, yes, well, this is your report.
I mean, this is your motion, so you get priority.
Okay.
Ask for.
Is there anyone from the public who would like to make comments on this resolution?
Well, there's a lot of people.
That's who those people are.
If you want to wait for them, or do you want to make your report?
Well, I can speak a little bit about the motivation, but I have to compare statements, I'd like to say, okay.
Is that possible?
That's acceptable.
It's my first time sponsoring a resolution.
All right.
I thought it was important to do this today.
Well, go ahead.
Let me just read my remarks.
Thank you all for coming.
Why a resolution?
After all, a resolution is symbolic, it is not an ordinance or a law, and cannot change
the current state of affairs regarding access to abortion care in Ohio.
However, resolutions can be statements of resistance, which also become historical documents.
Resolutions can also galvanize and motivate people around important issues.
Why a resolution now?
Some councils passed resolutions when the
Dob's draft opinion was leaked in May.
Others did so shortly after the final decision was handed down on June 24.
This resolution comes almost three months to the day after the Dob's decision.
We have had three months to witness the havoc, chaos, and harm.
Being inflicted on the lives of people who are pregnant as a result of bands and severe restrictions on access to abortion care across the nation.
Unplanned pregnancies sometimes while on birth control.
Pregnancy complications, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes,
ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, cervical cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer,
Historectamies, uterine ablations, DNC's abortion.
Nobody knows what their reproductive future holds.
And the situations I listed cannot be a trust with a little blue pill.
Comprehensive reproductive health care is essential for women for people with wounds.
And this care should be between the individual and their health care provider.
not judges, lawyers, or politicians.
The U.S. has the worst maternal mortality rate of any wealthy industrialized nation.
Maternal mortality is defined at the number of women who died due to pregnancy related issues
for every 100,000 life births.
To give you some numbers, the maternal mortality rate in New Zealand is 1.7.
In Norway, it is 1.8, the Netherlands 3, Germany 3.2, Sweden 4.3, Switzerland 4.6, Australia 4.8, the UK 6.5, Canada 8.6, France 8.7, the United States 23.8, we are indeed exceptional in this regard.
Maternal mortality varies by race in this country.
Among white mothers,
17 of all died for every 100,000 lives births.
Among black mothers, that number is 55.
I have said before on council, I said this, the first council meeting we had after the doves decision, that there is no freedom without reproductive freedom.
And when I think about humans that had a complete lack of reproductive freedom, I think about my ancestors, and all black women who were enslaved in the Caribbean and of the U.S.
The fertile and profitable soil of slavery was not the sugar cane tobacco or cotton plantations.
The fertile and profitable soil of slavery was the black woman's womb,
who threw rape, forced breeding, and forced birth,
produced children that would be bought, sold, and worked to build a massive slave economy.
There is no freedom without reproductive freedom.
I'm grateful for everyone over the last several months who have shared abortion stories and we have heard many stories in some of the most extreme circumstances on the news from people who chose abortion care.
Those are not the only stories for everyone who has had an abortion for any reason.
There are countless others who understand the anxiety and fear that comes from a pregnancy
scare and the comfort and I will use the word comfort of knowing that they could access
safe legal abortion care if they decided to do so.
I remember my pregnancy scare.
I was an undergraduate at McMaster University in Canada, a child of immigrant parents and
oldest of four children living away from home.
I wanted to make my parents and my family proud.
I had been a youth leader in my church, a woman's leader in my church, a track athlete,
and high school.
I was doing my best to do well in my undergraduate programs, my undergraduate courses.
I did much better in some courses than others.
But I had a secret.
I was in an abusive relationship that was getting increasingly more dangerous as time went
down.
Probably because of the immense stress and pressure I was under, not eating well, not sleeping
well, I missed two periods.
I was too frightened to even get a pregnancy test.
Finally, I must have the courage to get a home pregnancy test and as I waited for
I remember the distinct clarity of knowing that if I was pregnant, I would have an abortion.
Having a child period, but especially with an abusive partner, was inconsistent with my life's ambitions,
no matter how capable I might have been at raising a child. Fortunately, I was not pregnant.
Ohio six-week abortion ban is currently on hold, but it is written with three exceptions that would allow abortion past six weeks.
Number one, to prevent the death of some other.
Number two, in cases of serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant mother.
Number three, in cases of an ectopic pregnancy, which, by the way, are not survivable by the mother or the child.
Please keep those in mind.
The Canadian Supreme Court decriminalized abortion in 1988.
Fifteen years after Roe v. Wade and about five years before my pregnancy scare.
And rendering the majority opinion, Chief Justice Brian Dixon wrote, quote,
forcing a woman by threat of criminal sanctions to carry a fetus to term, unless she meets
certain criteria unrelated to her own priorities and aspirations, is a profound interference
with the woman's body and thus an infringement on security of the person.
The language in Ohio's three exceptions reduces pregnant people to nothing more than a collection
of limbs and organs, to be spared only to prevent death and irreversible impairment.
Contrast that with a ruling that addresses a woman's priorities and aspiration.
This is so much bigger than my body, my choice.
It's my body, my life, my body, my liberty, my body, my pursuit of happiness.
I do appreciate that, but if we're going to get through this, I know a lot of people
have things to say.
I'm going to ask that we are respectful to one another.
I'm going to hold everybody as I do at every meeting to five minutes.
And I ask people to be respectful of one another as you share your opinions.
We've already gotten a lot of opinions, so I was not surprised to see a large group of people here, and as I said before, you're welcome to be here, and we look forward to hearing your opinions.
So who would like to start with public opinions on that please, ma'am, come forward.
Again, for those who are new to council, just give us your name and address, and you can say what you want for five minutes.
Okay, thank you.
Yeah, good evening.
My name is Dina Green.
I live at 2-1, towel under, road with Rohal, MS student.
I am also the president of the Student Organization, Students for Life, and a community
advocate with organizations standing with you.
Our goal as a group is to support pregnant and parenting students on campus in those
near community before and after birth, as well as change the hearts and mind on the top
abortion ultimately with the goal of saving the lives of the preborn. On behalf of our
organization, I implore this committee to not call to not pass the so-called reproductive
freedom resolution. This resolution does not change law yet a project to the rest of our
state nation and those who one day read about this in history that we advocate for the death
of the helpless, the preborn children who do not get to say on whether they live or die.
All of this in the name of it being reproductive freedom.
The reversal of rho will that elective abortion is not a constitutional right.
There's nothing right about elective abortion.
That end the life of a preborn baby who from the moment of conception is a unique person that will never again exist in history.
We are not talking about all the scenarios which are treatment for miscarriages or life-threatening situations
for the member, which are many of the situations that you listed if we've all of them.
On this abortion jeopardizes the physical mental and emotional state of women.
Past abortions have been linked to fertility issues, breast cancer, and adverse effects on mental
health, including but definitely not limited to grief and regret, substance abuse, depression,
anxiety, and even suicide. Women here in Oxford and everywhere deserve better than abortion.
Instead of rallying around the idea that death is the only solution to an unexpected
pregnancy, we need to focus on giving women the actual love and support they truly
do deserve. Again, I implore you to not pass this resolution, but no matter how you end
up voting today, we will still be the post-row generation. Thank you for your time.
Thank you very much for joining us.
If we applaud after everyone, we're not going to get through
So we'll take for granted that half of you are happy for the pro and half of you are happy for the end.
I'm sorry.
There you go.
Hi, my name is Kathy Brinkfin, I live at 404.
Emerald Woodstruck.
Tonight I'm speaking on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Oxford.
The League of Women Voters has from its inception over 100 years ago, worked for equal rights and social reforms.
In the early years, the leak was one of the first organizations to address such issues
as child welfare, maternal and child health programs, child labor protection, and laws
that discriminated against women.
With that history, it should come as no surprise that the leak strongly supports reproductive
freedom.
On August 26 of this year, a day that has typically been celebrated as women's equality
The League of Women Voters and 35 women leaders from a broad cross section of organizations placed in ad in the Washington Post.
The ad was an open letter to women of the United States.
The text of the letter noted, quote,
We cannot celebrate women's equality day today because we are far from equal in our democracy.
We are counting on lawmakers at all levels to restore and protect our rights.
End quote.
Lawmakers at all levels.
There were three demands listed in the letter.
The first demand detailed voting rights legislation.
The second-demand detailed equal rights, the addition of the equal rights amendment to the Constitution.
The third-demand was as follows, restoring reproductive freedoms for women and those who can become pregnant.
Women have lost the fundamental reproductive rights afforded to generations before us.
this step backward, perpetuate societal inequalities and falls disproportionately on people of color and low income communities."
Tonight we applaud council members Franklin and French for heating the call for lawmakers on all levels to act in order to restore and protect our rights.
And I thank you for sharing your personal story.
I think it's brave for people to stand in front of a group
and say what their story was.
Thank you.
Next.
Thank you.
Hello.
My name is Krista Schrandt.
I am a resident of the town on the school district at 1047's
Stephen Young Road in Camden.
I've actually been a resident of this area,
the entirety of my life.
And I am proud to say that. I love my beautiful town here, and speaking of sharing stories, I admire you for sharing your story.
But my story is very different. See, I am. I was a low-income single mother who was sexually assaulted
And my early adolescence, and I became pregnant, and with nowhere to turn to, I turned to a
plane parenthood, where I was lied to by the abortion industry, and told that the pregnancy
was not alive, that it was just a clump of cells, that there would be no consequences whatsoever
for my decision to have an abortion.
I had an abortion and just like the young girl came up and spoke about the men's will
illnesses, the disease, the problems carrying later pregnancies, they can occur after
a woman does go through that choice, I experience all of those things, including but not limited
to and probably the greater part of my suffering was the mental anguish that I went through
to the back and see what is incredible is that that didn't come until when I was 18 years old
after I had had several suicide attempts because I hated myself, ended up finding out I was in
a hospital and found out that I was pregnant with my daughter who is now my oldest child and
she is old enough to be in college freshman this year. I had never had the opportunity to see
a sonogram and to realize the humanity of my child until that moment. And when I saw her
a little heartbeat on the screen, all of a sudden I had a reason to live. Not only that,
but I had been a high school dropout. And when I had a reason to live because of this love
that I never knew existed, not only did I get off drugs, that I get off the street, but I went to
college. I ended up becoming a very successful
cosmetologist. I am an entrepreneur. Now I own and operate a 501c3
rights kingdom ministries and I call in women from all over the nation
who have similar stories to me because of a regrettable choice to abort their
child. I will tell you that every woman that I talk to
there are always consequences to this so-called reproductive freedom
And yes, you know, people can say that it's freedom, but truly it's not.
You are exchanging one thing for another thing, and I will tell you not one of these women
regrets their lives children.
Even when they were not in a great situation, even when they were in poverty, although a pregnancy
It might be unexpected and might be unwanted.
What results from that the child is not.
And I have, we actually launched, it's called the Cloud
Cryzalt Speak Life Project.
It's a social media movement where women from all over the nation
who have experienced the horrors of the choice to abort.
They were not warned about.
They were not educated about what the repercussions of that
voice, we're going to be in the long term, come, and they share their stories of how abortion
harms women.
Not only does it end a life, but it harms women.
But the hope that they found in healing with a relationship with Jesus Christ.
And so I just want to come here and speak life and say that I do not regret my children.
I do regret my abortions, and I do not represent the park.
The city of Oxford who would stand to dissent against the decision for Rovey Wade. I wish that there had been somebody there for me to stand in the gap and to speak life and to tell me that my children were actually going to be the best decision that I could ever make.
And my children were the ones and my love for them drove me into getting out of the gutter and turning my life around. That's all you have. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Hello, my name is Mark Orlando. I live on 231 Western college drive in young hole
and I am part of the student for life at Miami University. I only have five minutes, so I'm going to make this brief.
This is a model of a 26-week-old fetus. It has a heart, fully functioning organs, can feel pain and if you're close enough you can see that it's sucking.
it's thum. It's mother, let's just say 18 year old woman, goes into a planned
parenthood. They're going to perform what's called a DNA abortion. That stands for
dilation and extraction. What's going to happen is they're going to expand the
cervix and suck out all the amniotic fluid that surrounds his baby or fetus
if you prefer I call it that.
Then what they're going to do is they're going to choose a tool called a silver
crimp clamp.
It has little hooks on the end of it and it will grab on and does not let go.
What they'll do is they'll insert it into the woman's cervix and rip out a long.
Note that the baby can feel pain during this.
So just imagine that you're sitting there in somebody's straps a saw trap to you.
Then I'll leg, then another leg.
Eventually they're going to insert and they're going to try and move the head.
They're going to feel around until they have something about the size of great for.
By the way, if you have any questions on this, I advise watching Dr. Anthony Levittino and
Obstetrician Gynecologist, he talks in front of Congress and describes the success scenario.
You get that hand, you get the clamp around the head, so about that, you squeeze down, and
white material comes out of the cervix that was the baby's brain.
Then you have to remove every single part, because if you don't remove every single part, the women
can get very, very sick, because she has dead human body parts in her cervix or uterus.
So, once again, imagine you're hooked into the saw clip, saw machine, and after a while,
your arm gets ripped off, and another arm in another leg, and your head gets smashed in.
Congratulations, you've just chosen reproductive freedom.
Now, I know what your old, a lot of people are thinking, why is this man standing in front of you?
You don't have your uterus, why should you have an opinion on this?
Well, it is my personal belief that man ought to protect women and children.
I mean, that's what all the movies do, all these big, strong men going after the dance
on distress, saving the children.
So why can't I do that here?
Why can't I stand up and say, I want to protect the unborn, the voiceless, the ones who
Are the most weak among us?
And yes, I've received flag for this. I'm from California. If you can't tell by the election charts, it's very blue.
And my beliefs out there have gotten me a lot of trouble. I don't care.
I'm standing here in front of you today to beg you. Please do not pass this resolution.
or whatever, and as I forget what exactly is called that's a resolution, that's a resolution,
okay, perfecter, we're good then. Please. Every time, when you're thinking about the passing
this, think of this, think of yourself in a sought trap. And if you still want to pass this resolution,
I have to think about all that, then all I can do is pray for you.
Thank you.
Have a good night.
Thank you very much.
We also would like to address council.
Hello there.
My name is Nicholas Perry.
Oh, this is going to be great.
I'm at 1653 Magnolia Drive, Oxford, Ohio.
My name, of course, is Nick Perry.
I'm a graduate student here studying computer science and I'm here to speak today obviously
on this resolution that's going to happen.
I am pro-life, I think that's pretty obvious worth the group that I'm sitting with, but I'm not going to talk about any of that right now.
I'm going to talk about your guys' job. They've all talked about it, they're going to keep talking about it. You guys are local lawmakers.
You said yourself, this is symbolic, this is something you can't do.
So the problem I'm running into here is that we're doing something that's going to cause issues with the population we've done it before.
A lot of people are here to argue either side.
We saw, you said about half people here are arguing
side.
We need to divide Oxford even more.
So again, I'm not here to discuss what you guys should do.
I'm here to discuss what you shouldn't do.
You shouldn't pass the resolution that's going to divide this city.
The council has not the jurisdiction to make any change.
So why enact something that's not going to do anything.
Your guy's job is to enact policy, not make some
statements. The council's job should not be to grants the end. It's
grants the endings a way to get reelected. It looks crappy. It looks
you know, it's not me political. We shouldn't be doing it. So if the public
wants to change this, they should go to the state legislature. We all have the
right to vote. If members coming up, we shouldn't be talking to local council
about something that's a state issue at the moment and soon to be federal. The
public has their option to do it symbolically doing it through a nothing
burger of a resolution isn't going to change anything.
As seen with COVID restrictions, the council again,
once again, wants to unilaterally make a decision
for the entire city of Oxford.
We all have our own opinions.
We're all adults here.
I'm a graduate student, so I guess more
I'm going to call it according to the council
than more other people, but it doesn't really matter.
We're all adults.
We're all ready to, we all have our own opinions.
So I remind the council that each Oxford
resident is, again, entitled to their own opinions.
Adopting this resolution means
and the population even further.
Instead of confirming the public opinion on these issues one way,
instead of confining the public opinion to this kind of one way of monologue,
where I can say something at every single one of you guys,
and then you guys can respond to me, I can't say anything back.
We should go out to the street and listen to people who are out there
protesting or having these conversations in a non-formalized discussion,
or again, I say something for three minutes or five minutes or whatever it is,
and then you respond and then you guys make your decision.
So, the Council is out of touch with their constituents, in my opinion, and it seems to be more of a blind authority that chooses to make decisions based on how each personal council member feels than the entire constituency.
So, I ask the question, am I not an Oxford citizen because I disagree with you? Am I not welcome to study here? Am I not welcome to work here as a graduate assistant? Am I not welcome to live here? Because I simply disagree with the council members, and because you guys are making the statement that I'm not welcome because I disagree with you. I ask the question. Thank you for your time.
Thank you.
Anyone else?
Come on forward.
Hi everyone.
My name is Patrick Kyle.
I'm a resident at the Commons apartment in Oxford.
I would just like to express my support for the resolution for all the reasons
that Council Member Franklin said.
I'm a part of the feminist club at Miami.
Everyone there supports the resolution.
That's all I have to say.
Have a good night.
thank you very much. Yes ma'am, you're next.
Hello, good evening. My name is Sarah. I'm a senior here. I live I live at 102 East Walnut
Street. I was the past president of my university students for life last year and I'm a senior this year
and I serve mainly on our supportive services role so at students for life we seek to not only educate
students, but we also seek to support pregnant and parenting students. And so as someone
who is trying to go and support pregnant and parenting students, I started working with our
local Pregnancy Center. We have one here in Oxford. We also have a great one in Hamilton.
And it breaks my heart that a lot of our students don't know as much as they should about
these pregnancy resource centers and they get a lot of flux sometimes because they are not
offering abortion. But I recently started as going in here and seeing the type of women that come
in and are served by these communities or by this pregnancy center, completely free of charge
with completely free judgment, they are not going in there telling them that abortion isn't an option.
In fact, they are going there and they are telling them that abortion is completely an option.
And they're going through and they're explaining what an abortion in legal abortion in Ohio would look like at their on-stage.
And they lay out their options for them.
and this excellent pregnancy resource center is located across the street from Plain Parenthood.
And so they're not telling them that abortion is in an option.
They're saying here are all of your options, and then they wait for the woman to choose.
And I see pregnancy resource centers as choice, and they are giving support for women who want
to parent. They are giving adoption referrals for women who want to choose adoption as difficult as that may be.
And they are explaining the truth about what abortion is in the most plainest objective terms.
And students for life we see the abortion industry and play in parenthood specifically as not people who will go
Tell the truth about what abortion is, we view it as a money-making operation, as someone who cares and who sees these women coming in with a lot of her to these pregnancy resource centers.
We see that Planned Parenthood is not giving them all of these options. They're giving them their selling them abortion.
We see Planned Parenthood specifically, but these other abortion clinics selling abortion to
these women, whereas as women, even when they go in for a pregnancy test, or ultrasound
in a low income woman, this happens in Hamilton's Planned Parenthood all the time, when a low
income woman comes into Planned Parenthood and Planned Parenthood finds out that she cannot
afford a pregnancy test or an ultrasound, they'll send them down the straight to the
residency resource center. This is an
example of how as soon as
for life we see that abortion
industry does not care about a woman,
not saying that specific people in
an abortion clinic, they're different,
they're a different story, but the
industry is a whole, they're out to
market abortion to make money.
And these pregnancy care centers
are out here to help women.
And so I just want to express my
support for those pregnancy centers and to let women on this campus, especially on this
campus, know that they exist, and they're completely free at church. I also wanted to address
one comment made in your statement about criminalizing women. It is never ever the support
that a students for life of America are organization to criminalize women for having an abortion.
We believe that abortion has two victims, the child and the mom, the child is the first one and then the mom.
And so having these two separate victims, the mom should not be criminalized, she should not be put in jail.
We believe that it's the abortionist, and you see across the country in these laws that are coming out.
It is not the woman who is being penalized and to the abortionist who is being fined or jailed, depending on the state.
Thank you.
Okay, for the record before you leave would you give Heather Barber up here your name because I don't think you gave that at the beginning.
We need it for the record, so we appreciate it.
Thank you.
I'm sorry I didn't catch you.
Good evening.
I'm Sue Mo Meyer.
I live at 720 Westchester Street here in Oxford.
struggling with what to say to you because it is my firm belief and that this
resolution should pass. I would like to respond to the demonizing of
Planned Parenthood, but I don't really think this is the place. I think your
involvement is important because we're really talking about life in a
of opinion about abortion her say, because people have different values, different religious beliefs,
and different experiences. But what should the lobby and a pluralistic democracy
and it should allow for women's reproductive choice? No one, of course.
Should be ever forced to have an abortion, but no one should be denied an abortion if that is what they see as best for them, given their values, their families, and their resources.
So I want to thank you for proposing this resolution, I think it's brave and I think it's perfectly appropriate for even a small town city council to take a stand of principle.
So thank you.
Thank you very much.
We also would like to address the council.
By the way, when I asked that question, if you're just slow getting up or raise your hand or something,
Because otherwise, I'm likely to just move on, so I appreciate it.
Thank you.
Hi.
Welcome.
I'm Carly Federinggo.
I live at 1525.
I'm a graduate student at Miami.
And I'd like to share my personal experience.
So I like council member Franklin.
My freshman year of undergrad.
I had a pregnancy skater.
And I knew my parents, or at least my mother,
would be very supportive of me and whatever choice I made.
But I didn't go to her because I was terrified.
I was terrified of what my peers would think of me.
I was terrified of what my partner at the time would think of me.
If I decided to go and get an abortion, thankfully I was not pregnant.
But I knew that I had that choice.
It was my choice to make.
It was my autonomy as a person.
And that is why this resolution should pass
because of showing support for people's autonomy, bodily autonomy.
So I wanted to say thank you for bringing this forward because I think it is very important to show that
support for people. Thank you. Thank you very much.
What else? Yes. Come on up.
One Megan Kikendahl, 1304 Dana Drive. Thanks for the opportunity to speak and making time for all of us.
I'm sharing my support for the reproductive freedom resolution.
And while this is only symbolic, it's important that we're having these conversations at a local level in addition to state and federal levels, I also want to stress that while the dog decisions set abortion legislation back to the people and their elected representatives, we live in Ohio, a state with unconstitutional districts.
that's skew or representative legislator make up in ways that do not accurately represent us.
So for a ruling like this, the Supreme Court handed control of our bodily autonomy to people who do not represent our interests.
And we cannot otherwise address those because of the systems that we're in.
So in light of that, I think it's important to share some information.
As you consider passing this resolution and for those listening to and participating in today's meeting.
People deserve the freedom to choose if they want to have children and when, if ever, that takes place.
Reproductive justice, as defined by Sister Song, the Women of Color for Reproductive Justice Collective, is the human right to maintain personal, bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and especially this point, parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.
I'll come back to that in a minute and I also want to note that a lot of language talks about women as the only people with capacity for pregnancy and it's important that we acknowledge that other folks that do not identify as women have
and have the capacity for pregnancy.
In statistics, those numbers will typically count women
just because of data concerns,
but it's important that we acknowledge all of the people that have the capacity for pregnancy
and may need abortion care.
A few stats of note, these are from the Gootmock Institute
from 2014, 88% of abortions are done by flow of weeks.
I think there's an over-emphasis on the idea of late term abortions by anti-abortion groups.
And it's important to emphasize that when a pregnancy is viable, they're not in
using abortion, they're inducing labor.
A lot of times when we talk about those later stories,
they're all kinds of other complications,
which I won't go into at this point,
but it's important to acknowledge
the heartbreak of many of those decisions at that point
in someone's pregnancy,
and having laws that prevent them from all of their pregnancy
care options in that state can be additionally traumatic.
59% of people having an abortion already have at least one child, and a lot of times that decision takes that child into account, and they may not be able to continue to care for that child, which connects to this next statistic that 75% of people having abortions are poor or low income.
24% so nearly 1 in 4 women have an abortion before age 45, including people with strong religious convictions which is a whole other situation.
And again, thinking about pluralistic society, which was mentioned earlier, trying to maintain our freedom to decide what is and is not right for us as individuals.
Bands do not stop abortions, they make them unsafe.
There are already higher mortality rates, as was mentioned, for pregnancy, for people
of color, especially black women.
And pregnancy itself is not inherently safe, and it comes with a lot of risks.
When we focus on banning abortions, we miss huge opportunities to actually make helpful
policy on things like extended and paid parental leave, affordable health care, better job
security policies so people don't have to choose between their pregnancy and their job.
Again, and potentially their families welfare.
Safe, affordable childcare and housing and comprehensive sexuality education to help prevent
on planned pregnancies because the number one cause of abortions is on planned pregnancies.
I'm sorry, Megan.
Definitely.
You have used your five minutes.
And that was the end.
Thank you.
Thank you for coming.
We appreciate it.
Yes.
Come on forward.
Hello.
Thank you.
Mr. Mayor, everyone.
Firstly, my name is Father Jacob.
But willig.
I live at 111 East High Street, honor to be here.
We've only been in Oxford one year, but thank you for all your work.
I think you're open for coming here tonight, sir.
And there are blessed United States to speak our freedoms.
I think it comes in mind to me, I guess, of course, as a Catholic priest, we stand for
life.
We stand for the mother, we stand for the child, we're continuing there to care for both,
to care for both, right, but realize we have the belief strongly for life begins a conception.
Right?
The God creates this body and soul at the time of conception.
and that we're all made for life.
And certainly there are many difficult situations,
right? And we have a great love for mothers.
You know, we need, as Sarah was mentioning,
you're all just in points of people,
knowing the right pregnancy care centers we have,
because I think we need to get the word out.
So all of us I hope just to know,
because people certainly are in difficult situations
at times, right? They feel isolated.
You know, we're never there to blame with these decisions.
As Sarah said, we never forced decisions, right?
Just the beauty of, you know,
trying to help and support. At the same time we do need to realize that there are two lives
here, right? There is a child, and there is a mother. And we should not forsake one for the sake
of the other at any time, right? We need to remember both. And of course, being a Catholic priest,
I just have to bring in some scripture right, as we said earlier, we talk about being one nation
under God, indivisible for liberty and justice for all. For liberty and justice for all.
In Deuteronomy 3rd and 19, it says, I have set before you life and death the blessing and the curse, therefore choose life, then that your descendants may live.
For the sisters we are called, I think society is judged by how it treats the weakest and society.
Right, we talked, we heard about the poor earlier, pretty about the homeless. We hear about, of course, these young women who need support, but also children.
And of course, there's always a debate about one-life begins, you know, I believe we firmly believe that it
it begins a conception. And so as one show this evening, thank you for your time.
Thank you very much for coming.
Yes, I'm going to go back here and then I'll get you.
Hi, my name is Johnny Drew. I was at a 3, 6, 1, 5, Barbara, and I just want to read the article actually here.
from Star Parker. She's an African American woman and she founded the Center for Urban
Reneau and Education. And she said here, when Senator Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln
faced off in a debate in Piora, Illinois in 1854, the issue of tearing apart the nation was slavery.
A central issue was whether slavery would be permitted in new territories entering the Union.
Douglas's answer to the question was politics. Lincoln's answer was morality and the Bible.
Douglas's answer to slavery in New States, the Kansas Nebraska Act, was democracy.
Citizens would vote to permit or not to permit slavery in each state. Lincoln opposed this expansion of what he saw as the inherently evil institution of slavery.
In the purio debate, Lincoln stated, Judge Douglas interrupted me to say that the principle
of the Nebraska bill was very old, that it originated when God made man in place good
and evil before him, allowing him to choose for himself being responsible for the choice he
should make. Lincoln's answer. God did not place good and evil before man, telling him to
make his choice. On the contrary, he did tell him there was one tree of the fruit of
that you should not eat on pain of certain death.
Lincoln argued essentially that at the heart of political freedom stands man's
free choice and that the choices man makes have profound importance in consequences.
Douglas argued that the most important thing that is that we have choice that we can choose.
Lincoln argued that the most important thing is what we choose.
Now we are here almost 170 years later after Lincoln and Douglas faced off and the nation
is at a similar crossroads in another issue of brave moral consequence, our responsibilities
to the unborn.
Just as Samuel Lito and his opinion in the doves' decision that overturned R.V. Wade argued
from a legal constitutional perspective. His conclusion contrary to the course's conclusion
and R.V. Wade was that the U.S. Constitution does not contain a right for a woman to abort
her child. However, the practical moral result of this decision is that Lito put the nation
on the moral footing, where Lincoln argued regarding slavery, and continues on, but I will
say this to you, City Council, before you make your decision on passing this resolution,
I would ask the question, are you on the right side of history? Because we know, I believe
with 1787, the three fifth compromise, Congress came together and said African-American slaves,
only account for three-fifths of the person, and right now we are at a similar crossroads in America that we are seeing a baby
Only at 15 weeks or a baby at only 12 weeks or a baby at only two weeks is a person
But a person has inherent dignity and value from the moment of conception and there is is not it doesn't matter if they feel pain
It doesn't matter if they yet have brain function right we know people in the coma
They they don't have that brain function that maybe we do at this at the similar capacity
but we know there's so people.
In the same way, the preborn children,
we know history will declare that they are people.
The question is, where will you stand on that side of history?
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
You're next.
I'm Elizabeth Ordall.
I live at 22, Lantern Ridge Road.
I have a lot of sympathy for the young people
in the back of the room today
because I used to be one of them.
If this was 1990, I would be standing up here
making the same speeches that they are making tonight.
I was raised as an evangelical Christian and when I was 17, I spent on
awful lot of time in prayer groups and our protests and working at the
pregnancy centers that they are talking about. I was passionate about life.
It took me many years to recognize that if I cared about life,
my obsessive focus at ending abortion rights was not the way to support life.
Rather, I should be working for healthcare for all, for living wages for all, for birth control, for all, for child care for all.
We are a long, long way from all of those things.
But those are things that we can and should be working for together if we care about life.
We have already begun to see the consequences of the Supreme Court ruling.
Women are being denied the care they need.
Doctors are being constrained from caring for patients, as they see fit, and
10 year olds who have been raped are having to cross state lines to seek abortion.
These consequences are not pro-life.
I am grateful to our City Council members for calling out this ruling and
stating our values, and I strongly support this resolution.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Okay.
Come on forward.
Good evening, my name is Lexi Merch. My address is 49th Curtain Drive and I would like to...
Say how much this resolution means to me, because as we've heard tonight, reproduction is not black and white. There is not one story, and there should not be one law to decide what is right and what is wrong.
I can tell you that if Rovey Wade were overturned six years ago, after I had
Fidmist diagnosed Emma Cole-Hide, had continued with work and traveled out of state to
Texas, had continued to work and ignored my body and pushed through and by the time I was
convinced by my colleagues to seek the help that I needed in Dallas, Texas.
I would not be alive today.
I had had an ectopic pregnancy, and if there was any question for what the doctors should do,
for what was legally right, versus what was medically right, I would not be alive because within 20 minutes of me arriving to that hospital.
I was given paperwork to sign to say that I had to go into immediate surgery,
And that if I woke up with a hysterectomy, I would not sue the hospital.
I was testing positive for pregnancy.
So this resolution really means the world.
Thank you, Council Member's French.
Thank you, Council Member.
Franklin, because we cannot imagine what are reproductive future holds.
I could never imagine that what I went through would happen to me.
I did everything right.
I followed the rules.
I decided when, and where, and how I wanted to get pregnant, and there are medical situations that are beyond our control.
And this resolution reminds us of that, and reassures those of you who are in the audience today, who are at home that whatever happens,
our leaders will support us, and by supporting us, Council members, Franklin, Council members, French,
I mean that other people don't have to get up here and share their trauma.
It means that they are doing their job and they are fighting for all of us regardless
of our background, regardless of our situation, that our leaders will support our decisions.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Yes, the hand and then the stand.
Yes, the hand.
The gentleman who stood, he'll be next.
I live at 1345 Dana Drive, my professional role, again, is facilitator for the local 501C3 non-profit Oxford citizens for peace and justice.
With me here tonight also is Barbara Carruso, who is President of the Board of OCPJ.
We applaud the initiative of counselors, Franklin, and French in introducing this resolution,
and welcome the Council's support of this statement of resolve.
We are here to represent ourselves and other members of OCPJ, including Karen Francis
and Kathy McMahon, Closterman, who asked to be acknowledged but couldn't be here.
We are some of the many in the city of Oxford whose values and beliefs are referred to
in the resolution.
and actually several months before this OCPJ demonstrated this publicly in two ways.
First, on June 25th, our board issued a statement concerning the previous day's Supreme Court decision on row,
and I gave it in writing to Heather so you would have that statement on the record.
And I was going to read it but after the commissative been made, I'm not going to do that.
But I do want to note that in this statement, we introduced a term that hasn't been used yet by anyone speaking tonight.
And that's the notion of forced birth.
Then, on July 14th, we sponsored a virtual program featuring the analyses of Dr. Jacqueline
Dockerty, Director of the Western Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Miami,
and graduating Miami Senior Medi-Migar.
The presentation was entitled, Abortion in a Post-Row USA.
The participants in the program generated a number of possible responses to the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs,
affirming that abortion is essential health care.
As I said, we're pleased to see that Council is articulating the views of what we too believe to be the majority of the city's residents.
But based on the comments that people have made here, though, I just want to say a few words
about process, and Mayor Snavely used suggested the possibility that half of the people
would speak in favor of the resolution and half of this people would speak against that.
Now I was trained as a social scientist, as a psychologist, so I know that what happens
with polls doesn't necessarily match what is true of people's beliefs and if we look at many
polls recently, it's not 50, 50. The majority of people who participated in polls would,
I think, support their resolutions proposed tonight. What you're doing here, I agree with
a symbol minor is brave and is important for you to do in a pluralistic democracy.
Nicholas Perry suggested in his comment that a resolution would further divide the
community and I think that's given a lot of credit to what a resolution can do. I mean
Councillor Franklin, but also the possibility in a resolution, and that is to express your
values in principles as counselors.
We elected you to represent us, and when communities are divided, you have to make statements
about your values in principles.
So I'm going to stay and listen to your discussion of the resolution.
I was here for your discussions of the mask mandates.
My guess is that many of the people in the room were not here for those discussions and I really
appreciate it.
Those resolute that discussion, you know, especially Councillor Ellerby's comments about
not wanting to tell people what they had to do, not mandating what people had to do in
a situation where it's not clear that wearing masks would prevent the spread of COVID.
If we believe in essential health care, if we believe that we should not be forcing birth,
then having a resolution that allows for opportunity, that allows for choice, that allows
for saving lives and giving that feedback to the state, I mean that's what it's doing,
it's giving feedback to the state and it's also representing your views to your public
constituents is vitally important.
So again, thank you for bringing this resolution. You have once again, going exactly by a minute
Assembly, we have a timer up here. No, he's gonna make it again. I was in the classroom for 39 years on a 50-minute
80-minute schedule. So I got pretty good at that. Thanks.
Yes, sir. You're in the back. Yeah, come on up
For those who may wonder I was trained as a debater and I had to go to the exact amount of time
So I really appreciate it when people do that.
Hi, welcome.
Good evening.
My name is Sam Dairy.
I live on 1607, Barrett, in court.
There are many issues that have a vision
have a risen with the abortion problem in our country.
So I want the first to say that we are here to support women.
And as Sarah mentioned, there are women's care centers here in Oxford
and all over our country to help educate and support women
through their pregnancy and through raising their children.
And I also want to quickly mention that in a topic, ending in a topic pregnancy is not considered an abortion.
And if you have any questions about that, you can come talk to me or any of the pro-life advocates in the back of the room after the meeting.
Council, I am here to protect life, our inalienable right to life. I cannot stand as a citizen
of the United States, silence against this resolution, and silence against this resolution.
The abolitionists of our past are hearings, because they stood for life. They stood for
God given humanity of every human person, even when others wouldn't recognize it.
Today in 2022, we need leaders like you to stand for life.
When it's inconvenient, when it will suffer abuse, when it's hard.
I can't tell you what all other countries stand for, but in the United States, we stand
for the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
of every single human person because they are a human person.
So why do we stand for life?
Because it's right.
I think we have a speaker already walking towards podium.
If she slips out the door, I'll know why I was wrong.
And I was.
Yes, ma'am.
Plus, her heart, you know?
Hi, I'm Anne Fachock.
I live 52-40 Brown Road, Oxford, Ohio.
Councilwoman, I'm here to say, you deserve better.
Women deserve better.
We deserve better.
We deserve better than abusive relationships.
We deserve better than rape.
We deserve better than sexual assault.
We deserve better than low incomes.
We deserve better than having to side,
whether we want to start a family,
or have an education in the career.
We deserve better than abortion.
Abortion does not solve any of those issues.
Abortion does not undo your rate.
Unbortion does not get you out of an abusive relationship.
Abortion does not give you the extra $500 you need
to make rent this month.
What really happens during an abortion?
A lot of times we say it's the end of a pregnancy.
But abortion specifically targets the life of an unborn child.
Talking about elective abortion obviously not spontaneous abortion with miscarriages or
topic pregnancies, those are tragedies because of the loss of life.
They're tragedies for the same reason that elective abortion is a tragedy.
When you have a late term abortion that fails and the child is born alive, we end up in a crisis
and that's how we have all these things that these born alive bills, where we have to figure out what
happens and the reason why that's considered a failed abortion is because the purpose of the
to end the life.
How do we know that it even is a human life?
And that is worth the spending anyways?
We know that it is alive because it grows, it develops,
it takes in nutrients and it responds to stimuli.
We also know that it's human because it has human DNA.
It comes from human parents.
What else would it be, a cat?
Now, the skin cells on my arm.
They're also alive and they have human DNA.
But they are an awful person.
How do we know that the fetus, psychotembrial, the baby?
How do we know that that is a whole complete human being?
Because we give it an upnutrition, the proper environment, and enough of time, it will develop
into a mature member of its species, and the egg won't do that a sperm won't do that,
but a blastocyte will.
That fertilized egg once the sperm meets the egg, that becomes a full complete living human being.
You said, we have no freedom if we don't have reproductive freedom.
I say we have no rights if we don't have the right to life.
the right to be protected and our mothers will. The one place that we should be safe.
You don't have to listen to me. You don't have to believe the words I'm saying.
You don't have to go and pro-life for the rest of your life after this.
But you do have to speak for me today.
And I asked for you to speak for me by staying silent on this issue.
I've not voting for this dissent.
We don't all agree with this decision.
And the fact in the matter is, we don't have to say, yes, as a city of Oxford, we agree
with Roe versus Wafing overturned, or we disagree with it, because we never will reach a conclusion
on that in this room today.
And that is why I'm asking for you to speak for me today by voting against the resolution.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for coming.
All right, if we exhausted, no, we haven't.
Please come forward.
Hi, my name is Charlotte Waldron, and I live on 46th of Hamilton, Scipio Road, and I'm a student
here at Miami University.
I had not originally planned to come speak today,
so I'm a little bit unprepared,
but there were a few things that were said
during the course of this discussion,
or a public comment that I would just like to
make some points on.
The first thing that I wanted to talk about was
the idea that the majority of people
do support abortion on demand without restriction,
it's actually completely untrue.
According to a self-university poll,
over 67% of American voters support
some restriction on abortion.
You can look this up if you don't believe me,
but it's a self-university poll from July, I believe.
So to say that this is in support of the community,
You
So, something that the community agrees on, I think, is a complete misrepresentation of the issue. The fact is that the majority of Americans, and honestly, the majority of Ohioans, don't agree on the topic. In fact, they disagree with you.
The second thing I want to reiterate is that ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion and should not be included in the idea that abortion restrictions will lead to harm to the mother.
Ohio does not prohibit ectopic pregnancy treatments because it is not an abortion.
One is the tragic loss of a human life and the other one is an equally tragic but intentional killing of a human life.
96% of biologists affirmed that life begins a conception.
You say that this resolution is meant to be historic and symbolic.
I agree, it is very historic.
But it's on the right, on the wrong side of history.
I would challenge any city council member to come up with a scenario when denying a human being's personhood
has been the right side of history. Thank you.
Thank you.
We got some from the back here.
Good evening, everyone. My name is Elizabeth Travis, and I live at 109 Stuart Square, Oxford, Ohio.
I would like to start by re-emphasizing the fact that the Po-Life
movement is dedicated to loving and supporting both the mother and the child.
I want to address something the councilwoman shared.
Several countries were listed with lower mortality rates for women giving birth in the United
States.
High mortality rates are absolutely an issue and should be addressed.
But, stricter abortion laws simply do not cause higher mortality rates.
Most if not, all of the countries listed by the Council woman actually have much stricter
abortion laws than the United States.
These countries who limit abortion access have lower mortality rates.
While the United States, with least service abortion laws, has a much higher mortality rate.
If anything, the statistics shared by the Council woman are another argument
and fever of tighter abortion laws and not supporting this resolution.
Thank you.
Okay.
Okay. Oh, we got more. Okay.
I didn't see her. So it's a look at her.
We'll get to everybody who wants to speak.
My name is Ryan Fair and I reside at 4350 Oxford Rally Road. Welcome.
And tonight I would like to address forced birth. It was talked about earlier.
What people do not realize is a baby will be born regardless of whether it is an abortion or a live birth.
A baby in a chemical abortion will be born likely over a toilet seat in private, or a baby
will be born through dismemberment at the tools of an abortion missed.
Or a baby can be born through a natural process at the time when nature decides it is
ready to be born.
But stop calling pro-lifers pro-force birth when you are also pro-force birth, you are just
pro-force birth at an abortionist tools.
Thank you.
there was someone else, yes, for yes, that's you.
Welcome.
Welcome. Dana
done again, 6490 in Hawksford, Ohio.
First thing I want to say is thank you,
Franklin for giving your story. I can relate to that. I just want to encourage
Council that I don't believe that this is a function of City Council to put this resolution
in.
I don't believe that you're representing all of the constituents here even though the
statement here on the document states that you City Council calls for their highest state
legislative or to listen to the majority of our state's residents and I say yes that's true.
But the majority of the residents do not want abortion as legal.
So, if you're going to write your name, you're signing this document, I just encourage you
to make sure you're signing a document that's accurate, I don't believe that your statement
is accurate because then it says that in the bottom in Section 3 that you're encouraging
you know, Oxford and Ohio residents to express their opinions by contacting the representatives
and by exercising the power of the ballot, if I'm to exercise the power of the ballot, then
Why are you stating that the majority of a higher residence went murder in the womb legalized
before the votes been taken?
You're stating something that's not packed.
And are you lying or are you promoting your own agenda?
So I just, I'm just asking you that, you know, and it said that you want this resolution
to take effect of the early state, the law will allow them.
And I just want to encourage you that by signing this resolution, you're opposing the God
of Abraham Isaac and take up the same God that you pledged when you, when you talked about
pledge of allegiance and you said one nation under God, that God. That same God is who you are
going to be coming up against. And that's not a threat, it's just reality. And so, you know,
someone asked if you were on the right side of history, I want to ask if you're on the right
side of God. Because I've been on the wrong side of God and it leads to destruction. So I stand here
before you because I'm post-abortive. I was in college and was in God pregnant and didn't know what to
with that. So because I was given all the lies that hey, it's just a full
of cells. It's not a big deal. Go ahead and do it. It'll make your life better. I said
sure. And I had the abortion and I just want to tell you that destroyed my life.
Absolutely destroyed my life. So you're your subject to thoughts of suicide. You have issues
with just life in general. I had so much anger and hate. So much anger and hate towards
the child's father that it ruined that relationship and no one wants to talk about that either.
How many people who have had an abortion does that relationship stay together? The numbers
very low. And I'm sure as you know our police chief can tell you you can tell you about the
anger and hate and domestic violence that he's probably sees on a regular basis and I just want
to ask how many of that is due to people who are post-aborted because they don't know how to
deal with the pain and I didn't know how to deal with the pain because as someone else said that
you hated yourself. So Amber, I was, I'm sorry, I'm really not your first name basis, Miss
Franklin.
To be in that place where, you know, yeah, it's an unwanted pregnancy and you
don't know what to do. And by the grace of God, you didn't have to make the decision I made. And
so I just want you, you know, I'd love to sit down and have a cup of coffee and share my whole story
with you. Because it's easy to say, you know what, I'm glad that it was a choice. But you didn't
follow through with it. And had you follow through with it, you might be giving me a
different answer because I was per choice. I believed that we should have that right until
then it happened to my life and then everything fell apart. You know, I'm divorced today
because of that abortion. My children don't have their older brother and sister that are
in heaven because of that abortion. My life has just been on a horrible trajectory because of
people and say, hey, we're doing this on your behalf. We're doing this because we think this is good.
Typically, you see resolutions like, hey, you know, Miami Red Hawk Day because they won the championship
and that unites the community. But this resolution is going to divide this community. It already is.
So if you want to put a resolution for that's divisive, so be it. That's your choice. But I don't think
it's wise, let's try to bring the community together and say, you know what, let's just
leave that over here for someone to make their own decision. But recognize that when people
make that decision, it has these ramifications that affect them for a lifetime and it's
destruction. So I just want you to really consider that, you know, look me in the eye, you know,
ask me my story. I will share it with you. Have a cup of coffee with me. I'll share my story
with you and let you know how this is affected in my life.
And you have also used exactly five minutes.
Good job.
Thank you for your time.
Well, let's see.
Well, you had an alarm.
Thank you.
That's good.
Welcome.
Hi.
My name's Ophelia.
I was on the side of that 112 West High Street.
And I also wasn't planning on speaking today.
But if we're going to talk about how each story is different,
let's talk about it.
I had an abortion last year, I never planned on getting pregnant who does at this age, not me, and it was the best choice I've ever made.
Thank God I had that choice, and I probably wouldn't have known about all my choices if it honestly wasn't for Megan.
Like, I am so grateful that I have someone in my life who allowed me to understand all the options through class, not even through personal, like whatever.
I'm so grateful, but, you know, I check all the boxes for having it being privileged.
I am in a loving relationship with my partner, I am financially stable, I am enrolled
in college here, and that we don't talk about that side, I mean, yes, we are focused
on individuals who can't raise a child and choose abortion, because of poverty, I'm not
that situation and it was the best option for me still I would have had the means to raise a child
and I know that I don't struggle with any mental health issues now. I was when I was pregnant,
I would have if I kept a baby and I don't think my heart breaks for the people who
have had a different experience who chose abortion and didn't have or we're not provided with the
after that but they had the choice and they chose that and if that was the right choice
good for them if it wasn't they still had that if I didn't have the choice I probably would
still be suicidal I probably would still be suffering from all the mental health issues I have when I first
found out of the pregnant I don't believe that many people here are acknowledging the positive side
of it, and this Franklin, thank you for sharing your story, but it's so brave, and I just
believe that no one here would know if I had an abortion tomorrow. I don't know anyone
here who has had an abortion, it will never affect anyone else in this room. They know because
I just said it.
I am not. No one needs to be bothered by people's choices. And so, thank
you.
Thank you for coming.
Yes.
My dream, Turner, 18-Quilwood fridge drive.
I just want to stay giving your address,
build really weird.
I can't be the only one that thinks that's kind of strange
in front of everybody that's going to see this.
But anyways, I'm here to talk about something
that hasn't been addressed fully.
You keep talking about this symbolic resolution.
And I'm wondering how we can actually
come up with a real resolution.
So, I want to talk about adoption and what that has meant for my family.
I have seen the other side of choosing life, but also what that has meant for our birth
mom and for us.
So, I'm just going to tell a testimony.
Our birth mom, she was in college, she went to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.
She was a deansless student, and she knew at six weeks that she wanted to place our daughter
Aria for adoption.
She is one of the strongest women that I have ever met, and that I probably will ever meet.
With the right education and support, I think that more women would actually choose adoption over abortion.
That's just what I'm going to present as an idea that our city could do a better job of.
I'm not from here.
I've been here for six years.
I'm from Nashville.
That's where we adopted.
When we moved here, I tried to find our adoption community and it's lacking here.
And I don't know why.
I think that there could be a lot of things that could bring that together and possibly
increase the spirit of adoption in our town and in our region but I will say that it
is lacking.
We've even tried to look into adoption in Ohio and so if you want to look at something that
be helpful for both the mom and the baby, looking into adoption. So I have a daughter. I have three kids.
Arya was our first, I knew that she was conceived before I knew that we were matched. We call that knowledge and the church that I am from, but God had told me.
And so, I'm not trying to change your mind.
I think you'll already know that it's a life.
So, but I am saying that I knew that she was there
and that she was, she was waiting for us.
I knew that it would be quick from the day
that we started our adoption process
until she was born was exactly nine months.
And so you can't make that kind of stuff up.
Two weeks after we found out
that we were matched with our birth mom,
I found out that I was pregnant.
And so God was not only working at the miracle.
All the adoption out, it was working out, a miracle inside of me, also to be able to conceive.
And then I had two beautiful girls that are five months apart. If our birth mom would not have decided life, then she wouldn't be here.
So I'm grateful that she chose life, and I think that our city could rally the troops and unify in the way that would support adoption over abortion.
Thank you.
Thank you. Appreciate it.
Good evening, Amy Shaman, 11, Heather Ridge Court.
So many things to possibly say.
So, I speak to her as a parent,
as a deeply, deeply religious person.
And I want to say that I very much value life.
My Jewish tradition, very much, value life.
I do a tradition places the value of the existing life
over the potential life and that is that in cases where there is a woman who for reasons
of her physical health, her mental health, the rest of her family's health well-being,
ability to be safe, the Judaism is in support of abortion.
More than that, we live in a country that is about choice and I challenge every person
seeing this room to really deeply think about whether they're okay with a government official
deciding what medical procedures do or do not happen on their own body. I challenge every
gentleman seeing in this room every male identified person to think about whether it would be
okay with you if I got to decide randomly what happened to your private decisions and what happened
to your private bodily parts.
If you are all enthusiastic about that, then perhaps you are okay with women not being able
to make decisions or their doctors, not being able to make decisions that protect the life
of a mother, for the children she has.
I don't have the statistic with me because I came from a work event and I didn't have the statistics
with me, but a significant percentage of the abortions that happen in this country happened to
women who already have children and who are making the very, very difficult decisions about
being able to have another child to have all the blessings and stresses and challenges that come
with being a parent, as well as being able to feed how it's closed, etc. It's very easy for some
this room to say that we're pro-life and there's no other way about it. I wonder how much we are
really truly willing to house feed, educate the children who are born and who are born into families
that can't take care of them or have struggles and mental illness and ways of the children know that
they are not desired. Until we as a society have the support systems in place to really support
every child to really be able to nurture them and see them as the precious beings they are.
Even then, this needs to be the choice of a one. A pregnant person and their doctor. Thank you.
Thank you.
Go ahead, Sam.
Raise his mic a little. Good evening, everybody. My name is Sam Lawrence.
I reside at 59 99 contraris road.
First of all, I want to thank Council for considering the resolution, thank councilor's French and Franklin for your action, and especially you, Councillor Franklin for sharing your personal story.
I heard a few polls brought up earlier this evening, so I want to bring up a few of my own.
A few research poll that was done a few months ago shows over 61% of Americans want to protect abortion rights access across the board, a suffoc poll, which I believe one of those was also brought up earlier.
said that 53% of Ohioans want to protect abortion access across the board, as well as in the state of Kansas,
supposedly one of the most red and pro-life states in the nation, a ballot measure
stripping the right to an abortion from the state constitution was shot down by 20 points.
This is a clear issue. This resolution is justified for just a few reasons,
which I'll list off. I won't take all our time here. It's been a long night.
Although, this is a symbolic measure, the Scottish decision was decided to impart by three
justices who testified under oath that they would not overturn subtle precedent.
Secondly, abortion is health care, as we've heard stories from across the nation are popping
up in which doctors refuse to give the medical care needed to a pregnant mother due to
the restrictive state laws that are in place.
Three, banning abortions doesn't actually ban safe abortions, or I'm sorry, it doesn't
actually ban abortions.
It banned safe abortions, having a child can push new mothers into poverty and into situations
with which they're not ready to expect as they are raising a kid.
Lastly, the Scottish decision disproportionately affects our most vulnerable communities,
as well as rich people will still be able to get abortions to put it quite literally.
They can fly to a different state, a sanctuary state, such as California, Oregon, Illinois,
closer to us, and get an abortion.
I heard someone mention that Council may be unwelcoming to some due to this resolution.
I strongly disagree, I thank you for your debate on this resolution and I support the
resolution.
Thank you.
One more.
I'm Walter Cress.
I reside at 124 West Sigma because my mom chose life.
I think we can all take a moment and realize that all of our mothers chose life and that's
why we're here.
I stand for life, my family stands for life.
We stand for life and we support women.
Pregnancy centers, we support women up to four years
after their pregnancy.
I cannot stand back while I know the truth
and not speak what I believe on.
And I would just like to show this poster taboo line.
This is what a baby looks like at 10 weeks old.
I'd like everyone to look around the room
And for every five people that you see, there is one person who is not born because they were
aborted, and they do not have a voice, and that's why I'm up here, and that's why we're here, and it's to give them a voice.
So we can all just take a second and look around. There are people in this room that should be in here and they are not.
Jeremiah one five says, before I formed you in the will of my new you and before you are born, I sent you a part.
I appointed you as a prophet to the nation. We are one nation under God.
We are all sent from God for a purpose and mission.
And I am here to be in front of you speaking this truth.
I cannot stay silent and allow this to happen when I know the truth, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
My savior was brought into life and gave us eternal life because his mother at 16 years
old chose life.
And I'd like to end in a prayer.
Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thoumore women, and blessed
us the fruit of Thuywin Jesus, holy man and Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at
the hour of our death amen.
Thank you.
All right.
I would like to thank everyone for coming.
I think we've really heard a wide range of opinions on the subject and I think every one of you for coming.
And I think that every one of you has strongly held and sincere beliefs.
And we've heard a full range of that and I want to say on behalf of Council that we appreciate you coming.
Okay. With that, I will turn it to Council for your discussion.
I would like to say thank you so much for everyone for being in the room.
It's only everybody with this politically engaged.
We have a much different political system, especially young people.
And that is just back.
And I was also trying to really make eye contact with Christa as she was leaving
because she and I share something in common.
And I wish she was here for this.
So she had a friend who was staying in her house.
There was a couple who was experiencing homelessness and a newborn baby.
I remember she posted online that they were looking for a place to stay.
They were currently in the hospital with their baby and did not have anywhere to go.
I am super pro-life.
I said, come on in.
We have two extra bedrooms.
didn't know their names, didn't have a photo, never had a newborn in my house, so they moved in.
They moved in.
I would actually, could not be there to let them in, but I knew they needed to be led in, so I had a friend unlock the door so they could move their stuff in.
But I know they didn't have the gas money because they were driving around waiting for me to be home.
I did not realize that the man of the two had been arrested for domestic violence with that same girlfriend.
I was completely unaware, and I was like, you know, I told them they can stay in my house for a month.
And by God, I am going to abide by that.
They, they, and I told them they asked why I asked why I asked and I said,
I want you to teach me.
I want you to teach me what we're doing so wrong.
What happened to you that puts you in this situation,
especially that man who had experienced so much trauma
and was homeless in the age of 17, he had three other children.
The woman had two other children, as I teach me, teach me everything I want to just learn
from you.
So as things went on, we tried our damn to get them associated with our network, got them
a good paying job, that was way more than minimum wage.
My neighborhood in three cents, they knew that there was a countless family living in the
everything they could need.
So when it came down to the end of the month, the guys started to get really agitated, and
he, of course, we know by this time, had aggressive tendency.
I told my husband, take the dog, get out of the house, they can do whatever they went to
the house, as long as we're safe.
We've got to have a message from the woman the next morning saying I'm so sorry, I owe
you some money for bed sheets because he beat me and I've let all of them in the bed.
I said, oh my gosh, don't apologize about that. Don't worry about it. Where are you?
I'm going to get you. She grabbed her newborn baby, which at this point was finally sold.
And she let. She said, I'm going to, I'm going to shelter.
I said, okay, because I knew she didn't have gas money, I said, where tell me if you run to problems.
In the neighboring three counties, there is no place for this woman to go with a newborn.
They were either full or they would not accept newborns.
She ended up back with this man because, I mean, there's no child care, right?
there was nowhere for her to find child care and you can't work when you have a kid. So she was
unfortunately ended up back with this guy. I have to touch her there. I asked her, you know,
of course he's not welcome but you are with your baby and my house. And I asked her what happened
like what's your story? What happened with the other two kids? What's going on?
She had chaired with me that when she was 18. She was homeless then. She eventually,
she got tricked into staying with this older man who was in his 40s.
He kept pressuring her because she had nowhere to go. She ended up succumbing to his advances.
was got pregnant when she was at the doctor's office delivering. She asked can I have a
tubal ligation and I'm hopefully I think everyone already knows but if you don't that
is a procedure in which they tie off your flu B and tube so that you cannot conceive. So
you can't have a zygote, you can't have an embryo, you can't get pregnant. She knew her
situation was so dire, she could not have another baby.
A doctor told her, no, you're young, you're 18, no.
That was so eye-opening to me that this woman was begging for help to not have
another child.
We're not talking about aborting.
This woman had three kids, so we're not going to go down that road.
She was begging for the autonomy to determine if she will have kids or not.
And so that made me wonder, how much rights do we have to our own body?
You know, you have, every single one of us has an opportunity to save a life by donating organ.
Every single one of us is so beautiful, right?
I know people who are like,
Also altruistic, they don't need a kidney to a stranger, and they're still alive during their 30s and their 20s, they're beautiful human beings, but no one is forcing you to donate your organs, even if it would save a life.
So the question is,
do we have the right to our own body and control over what happens or do we not?
And to your point and homelessness, oh my gosh, we need to do so much for it and I'm going to be emailing you after the meeting
Because we should all care about that, right?
All of us should care about these people who are experiencing homelessness, these people who do not have child care.
And I really look forward to even adoption, I would love to connect, I'm sorry, I don't remember your name.
I would love to connect you with our beautiful people, there's some people in the room who have adopted children.
I think that's a wonderful effort.
And I think that we should look at what we have in common and that we all deserve the right to have autonomy over our own bodies.
Anyone else?
I would like to thank first Councilor Franch and also Councilor Franklin for putting this together.
I think that since the Dodson's decision a lot of us have been trying to process what this means and it's been taking the while.
I want to thank everyone for speaking tonight because it revealed the variety of things.
One is that they're very diverse opinions but there was a remarkable unanimity which is people talked about
the complexity and personal nature of the decision, and decisions imply choice, and that's
a decision that's best made between a person and their doctor and their loved ones, and
it's not really a place for government to constrain those decision choices. And so I think
it's a little awkward for us to be talking about it, but the decision puts this effort
in the political area, this ought to be a matter of constitutional right privacy, but it's
in the political arena now. Whether this was symbolic or not, I mean resolutions, we have
two different choices in which to act one as legislation, as one as resolution. This is
a resolution, but it speaks the resolve of the council as the representative body of the
city of Oxford, and I'm confident in knowing the constituents, and I've lived in here for
20 years that the majority of officer supports this resolution, barring polls, I know that
that would be true.
So I think that this is important.
I think there's a lot of work to do because it is now in the political arena and that's
why people run for office.
So Sam, thank you for being here.
One thing I would say, though, also, is that I've been thinking about this a lot.
I think we need to take this as not just a symbolic, it will communicate to our legislators.
You know, these are legislators who probably passed a law that would force a 10-year-old to bear the child of rape.
And so I don't have a lot of optimism about them listening to us.
So in that point of view, I think we also need to be thinking about what things that we can also do beyond the representative and the material things.
And the number of cities in the United States have, if travel is what it takes to get the
healthcare that you need, cities like Austin and St. Louis and Cleveland have financially
supported public health providers to enable people to get the medical services that aren't
offered.
The choice has been an odd offered in their community, and that's something I think that we
could look at doing that is goes beyond symbolism.
So, sorry, I just want to thank, it was a good and productive conversation, but it affirms
certain things, which is this resolution is the right message, I think, for the Council of the City of Oxford.
Anyone else?
I'd like to share my thoughts.
Pardon me.
I'm freezing here.
Actually, shivering.
That's why I wear sweater.
The first comment I wanted to make is that I feel like Council was being lobbied by the number of
There's no thoughts on this, and they put that voice forward through voting, but in terms of legislating, this is a matter of ethics.
And I don't think to have any personal religious view that leads us there.
It's something that needs to be in the virtual and objective and applies to everyone equally regardless of their religious background.
That being said, I'll put out my views of abortion rights, which I believe is a nethical account of it.
So, the things that make us meaningfully alive and human consciousness, autonomy, self-awareness, capacity to suffer,
these are things that don't occur at all, or at least very late in pregnancy.
They certainly do not occur at conception.
The fetus is only the potential of medical life in personhood that we would tend to grant rights to in terms of the history of law and ethics.
A ventilator portion is to ignore the rights of the fully formed thinking, feeling person, to
control their own body, in an attempt to grant rights to an unformed, unthinking, unfailing,
potential person.
We don't obligate parents to donate organs to their fully formed children.
It's an I-Rite to an abortion-stallplicated person who is pregnant to donate their entire body
for nine months to a fetus.
a situation mentioned earlier, in cases in which a family member is unconscious and is on
life support, we grant family members right to make decisions of life and death in their
path.
In this situation, we should grant at least the same for a potential person that is essentially
being supported by the body and another fully formed human being.
We know that, again, banning abortion doesn't ban abortion events, it leads to unsafe
abortions, and it increases maternal mortality.
The way to look at that is not just to see that other places that have loose restrictions
on abortion, have greater or lesser maternal mortality when you control for the factors
do a proper study. All the studies, all the experts agree that maternal mortality will increase
going forward because of what we've done with Roe V Wade and restrictions on abortion access.
I would also like to say that it seems insistent not focus more on
birth control, which avoids all of this, and also preventing miscarriages.
These have been in much higher numbers than abortions, and in this case you're not
denying the rights of a fully-formed human in addressing these.
There are also a number of staffs thrown out that we're not accurate, or we're cherry-picked.
Over ninety-five percent of those who have had abortions do not regret it, and believe
those the right decision for them.
Sam mentioned some statistics that I was going to mention, 50 percent, 50 percent of the
public disagrees with overturning Roe B. Wade, 53 percent of Ohioans.
Now, to me, that's important to know the constituents because that should factor in, but
But that's not cheap to me, it's something's right, it's right, something's wrong, it's wrong and I think that needs to be acted on, but I would like to get the facts straight around that.
And I think that's just about it, I could go on a list of other statistics, but that's my position that's where I stand, I think it's an ethical one, I fully support this resolution.
You
guys heard me talking about a lot of comfortable and controversial things up here, and I say same thing yeah, I always say before I'm pretty insistent on their faith and science that I ultimately is about paying those choices over forcing someone to pay them for the circle.
I'm going to tell you a little bit about myself
and a president when a president sees his agenda, it's not too far, it's story, there's a mother, there's the light in the child and the home, and I lost the opportunity to be a father several times through the voluntary ending of the holidays.
So that being said, I know that whenever that happens,
There's a weight you have to care both the mother and the father. If the father knows that there was a life that he may have created
I've heard both sides of that sometimes that weight is very white sometimes that weight is insurmountable
But that's still a weight and even though I was a party that didn't have the opportunity to affect a particular choice
I'm not going to be a person that says I
need to force someone to make a choice about themselves because that is an autonomy situation
as well as the quality of the living. As in elected opinion, I have to go with what is the best thing
in life and speech. Is it allowing them to do the things that they
want to force my value
and the paintings on my feet I choose for it.
And Cardley said this before many times.
Another thing about choice is,
a lot of people's choices are based in the environment
that they surround themselves in,
as well as the morality that they grew up in.
This is where my portion of me saying
on the man of faith comes in.
A lot of the arguments that I've heard
were based in Christian faith.
I heard one based in Jewish faith, but God has many names, just like an individual has many names, I have four of them myself.
I have a belief that many of the people, when they talk about a supreme being, are talking about the same person.
or saying entity that if you will, I am not going to deny someone who believes that the present life is more important than the future life, that choice.
If there are individuals out there that believe that the future life is more than the present life, they have that choice to believe it.
But I'm not going to condone other individuals that force everyone in America to believe that way.
Especially when we have multitudes of religions that encourage behavior in multiple different ways.
So, there's another actual political thing that's associated with this.
That's the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment was about equality and this overturning of road
be weighed actually shifts against the 14th Amendment. And if this falls, I have to think as a
legislator what else could possibly fall. Could it be, you know, the choice of schools and who
They bring in based off of a particular attribute.
Could it be the marriage of two individuals based off
of another particular attribute?
Could it be compulsory behaviors based on
some other kinds of attributes like when you start allowing
small groups of individuals to dictate what large groups of individuals
do based off a particular narrow belief compared to the amount of people
that are in America. That is dangerous in my opinion and I can't condemn it. Even
though I prefer life I cannot prevent someone else from making a choice that might
not align with my beliefs. And that's why I believe in this particular
resolution. It's a resolution like I talked about resolutions in the past
where we hear on the days, believe that people should have bodily autonomy and that they should
choose present life over the future life versus the alternative.
So, that's why I believe that I'm going to focus on this particular resolution.
Thank you, everyone, who spoke.
Councillor Freds regrets that she's not able to be here today.
there was a loss in her family. She and I attended the reproductive rights town hall that happened
on campus on September 1st. And we tabled there. We had a table not as the city of Oxford
were representing ourselves as city counselors in our position on this. And we had a sign-up
left for individuals who were interested in supporting this resolution. But we know that there
of you today, and I thank you for coming, who were tabling women centers of Ohio, the students
for life, and we know that you signed the resolution, and I want you to recognize that
I sent the announcement about the resolution to all of you.
I knew that there would be opposition today, I invited you to come, because it's important
that we all be able to share our voices, and that's what the last section of the resolutions
He says, to make your voices heard to your local state and federal officials, you've done
that tonight.
And I want to thank you very much for having done that.
It's really difficult.
You know, no one chooses to run for local office or hire to make decisions that necessarily
please everybody.
I hear you when you say that we are representing all of you.
But with every decision that's made, some people will be pleased with the decision.
Some people will not be pleased with the decision, but that is our job.
I want to thank Council for all the comments that were said.
I know we haven't heard from our mayors yet, but some of you who signed up also signed up
to participate in something called Living Room Conversations, which are inner group dialogues
about topics, not to change anyone's mind, but to be in a room together and to listen
to each other and to show each other.
And we did that here tonight. And I think that's a real win for our community. And I agree with a lot of what was said from people who disagree with this resolution. I think we can do both.
I think we can allow people to have the right to choose while we create better synchidats, wrap around care, universal health care, free access to birth control.
But a lot of the countries that I named what I talked about maternal mortality have some
version of that in place.
And I think that contributes to the lower maternal mortality rate as well.
Thank you all for coming.
And I'm happy to speak to anyone after.
I always try to make myself available and I appreciate your time.
So first to end, I'm also so trained as a social scientist that I aired in saying half because, in fact, I didn't know that it would be exactly 50%, but it occurred to me that there would be a strong proportion of individuals here who are of one belief and those who would be of another.
So I apologize to my fellow social scientists.
One thing I have learned about being on council and trying to serve my community is that it is impossible to please everybody.
And if you have been at all aware of this meeting, you can see that that is impossible for us to do.
So that is not my intent, and I don't think that is Council's intent.
I think we have to look at what we think is the right thing to do.
As a parent of two children, I have to say that the two best decisions we ever made were having those two children.
We lived at 1304 days and a drive for many years.
Those are our best decisions,
personally, I can't even imagine the situation that I would
face where my wife and I would decide to choose abortion.
I can't imagine it because of people that I know, and people who have worked as up-to-true
of obstetricians and had to deal with those situations, very, very, very few people are in a situation when they have an abortion that they want one.
It is more often the case that they feel they have to for whatever reason.
Now, I'm old, old enough, that I remember when abortion was illegal, a far, row-by-way.
There were still abortions.
The only difference was that they were done in back alleys and with hangers and with other
implements and a lot of women died as a result of trying to have control over their
bodies. For me, it comes down to this. I don't think it's really so much about the debate
of when life starts. I think it is what is the role of government.
I don't see government
telling you, I don't see government telling men. You have a healthy kidney and if you don't
give that kidney. We're going to force you to give that kidney so that this other person lives.
We don't do that. But we'll tell women what they have to do. But I don't think that's
government's role to tell people what they have to do with their own body. So that's my
perspective on it. I hate abortion. I don't like it. I wish it were never necessary. And
And I think there's pain every single time, there's pain.
One way, it's emotional pain that you feel before, during, after, and it's everybody involved.
I've got to carry that way, you've got to carry the weight.
So with all that said, I would like to move to a vote if that's okay.
All those in favor of their resolution indicate by saying aye.
Aye.
Resolution is adopted.
Thank you.
Everyone for coming in.
I know you're not all happy.
That's.
What happens.
With anything we do, I think.
We'll go to.
We have no first reading.
Yes, there's more government to do.
There is.
So we'll go to the second reading.
And ordinance granting our class of Gerald and Linda single dime to connect to
and existing city water main for a single family residence located on a 1.5 acre parcel
on Trenton Oxford Road outside Oxford Corporate Limits.
So it's been moved and staccated Michael to do something new or different?
Nothing new.
Okay.
So anyone from the public who would like to address this ordinance, hearing none, council, hearing none,
please call the roll.
Mr. Brighton.
Mr. Ellerby? Yes. Mr. Franklin? Yes. Mr. Prattards? Yes.
Mr. Raghu? Yes.
Mr. Stanley? Yes.
Ordnance is adopted.
You may read the second ordnance please.
An ordnance amending ordnance number 3654.
Supplemental budget ordnance number 7.
To make supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2020.
Is there a motion?
Second.
It's been moved in seconded.
Joe is there anything to indifferent?
Yes, there's two items that came up since the last reading.
First is additional appropriation for income tax refunds.
And I put that at $200,000.
Because last month we got hit with 50,000 for people, for withholding, so people are starting to
file with the state to try to get their money back.
And I imagine, unfortunately, the closer we get the Christmas, he's going to be more
out
in the end of the year.
And the next item has to do with that budgeted, an increase in budget of revenue for reimbursements
And then the subsequent expenditures and the employee benefit fund, so far we're 237,000 803,
26 over what we had budgeted for refunds for a year, so this is just showing the money coming in,
and money going out.
You're back.
I'm glad you answer any questions.
Thank you very much.
Is there anyone from the public who wants to address this ordinance?
any questions or concerns?
We may call the roll.
Mr. Allerby, Mr. Franklin?
Mr. Pratird?
Yes.
Mr. Pratird?
Yes.
Mr. Pratird?
Yes.
Mayor Sainley?
Thank you.
Ordnance is adopted.
Thank you, Joe.
We'll move now to announce some communications.
I will note for the record that our city manager in assistant city manager are not here
because they are at the ICMA conference representing the city.
And Mike drives back, has graciously agreed to be here
in their stead, as well start with the event.
I would please to serve.
Thank you.
Just a couple of quick update items.
The North Book is sidewalked to Cramer Elementary.
It's a very complexion.
We have a few of you who can frontier to move
if you guys want to see what's going on.
Thank you for putting the tape on the backlighter.
Not to make excuses for due.
They've dispatched many, many crews
to be circumcorded for the flood damages there.
RFU's are not our main concerns.
So we're aware that we'll work it out and get that thing done.
We are currently bidding the extension of Walnut Street
and the parking lot of college at home.
So we'll be waiting for a lot of approval to proceed with that and we'll have a contract for you to review in the next meeting or two, and we're also very close to bidding Oats phases three and four and the connector to the community work.
So we're waiting on a note up to prove our final traceings when they give us the OK, we will bid those.
That's all I have tonight.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Chief Judge.
Thank you.
Chief.
I don't see KC here, Sam.
Thank you just a couple of quick ones.
In the area of comprehensive planning and affordable housing planning, those types of things.
Comprehensive plan. We don't have a date yet for the public open house. We're looking at mid-November
But once we get that we'll be doing some heavy advertisement. There's some suggestions in there that regarding zoning code reform and building height that will be of interest. I'm sure to the community
The RFQ for the request for qualifications for a non-profit housing partner
that
Perable and
This week and hopefully we'll have some responses next week to review and a subcommittee that has an advisory commission
and Western Null's design plan will be going out that hasn't gone out yet for
advertising but that will be as well to see someone in the area before
housing design. Thanks.
Thank you very much.
Nothing. Thank you.
Nothing.
Thank you.
I said enough.
Aster.
Teaser.
Not aster.
Of what I'm going to email you about.
I was, I don't want to go in here now.
at a conference in Denver, not too long ago for local elected officials, and I was fortunate
to tour their initiative for this mobile shelter. I don't know if you've heard of it,
but it came about during COVID because homelessness was so bad, they needed shelter right
that they didn't have time to build buildings. And it was really a beautiful thing because the
and guiding it was on the city council but then the other person was someone who lived in those
tents and then now has permanent housing and now it's an employee. So it comes with wraparound
services, they have security there and they basically signed six month leases at different places
so that no one neighbor who has to feel like why am I getting burden and put that you know and
If it's a problem, they can move on to a different area.
So, and the beautiful thing about it is that whenever we look at the cost of how much it might be to have say something like a tiny home, it'd be $25,000 per unit.
And in that situation, we'll come to a controversy that we have before where people say,
I don't know why am I getting my neighborhood.
It costed $400 in Denver for each test.
And this was something that was year-round,
a day matter with season, their ice fishing tents,
they had heating and cooling.
This beautiful, you could have your dog
and see it on the leave, your dogs.
They had social workers who were there 24 hours a day.
It is such a beautiful system
that gave these people autonomy to come and go.
So I'm really excited to explore, could this be something that we could have here that
is financially feasible, first of all, and second of all, does not burn in any one neighborhood,
and no one has to feel like they're getting punished, and if it causes a problem, could it disappears?
So I'm really excited to explore that going forward.
Thank you.
Yes, I just wanted to add, you know, one of the strengths of the, in terms of messaging of the anti-abortion movement was the slogan choose life, right?
But in it was the word choose.
And what I'm recognizing is that as choice becomes undermined.
And as women, people who are pregnant have no longer have the right to choose,
One of the strengths of the messaging is actually also being undermined.
I think choice is important.
I'd just like to add that I also support sustained efforts towards housing, poor housing and
addressing homelessness and other basic needs.
It's my chief priority since I've been on council and I'd like to put you into that.
I appreciate all the help and citizens and organizations reporting towards one acting on your own,
but also moving the city in the right direction.
All right, it's late, but I'll do this in 15 seconds.
You may know that our Amtrak platform grant application is right, so highly that it's almost
inevitable that it will get approved, which is $2 million from grant values.
Thanks to, and what that means is in 26 or 27, a train is going to stop at a platform, and
you will be able to ride it from Oxford.
The more all the story is, it takes a long time to do planning, we've been talking about
for a decade, really, but it also takes an investment.
It takes an investment in planning, it takes an investment in design,
but that can yield then big dollars.
So as we contemplate some of these other big things we do,
we have to do the upfront investment to see the long term return,
but the way we've been pulling down grant dollars from major infrastructure projects,
the model we're working on is really working.
So it's not a thank you.
Okay.
I have no comments.
It is late enough and I would entertain a motion to adjourn.
Second.
All those in favor say aye.
Aye.
The record show is adjourned.
Just out there.