Mississippi Personhood Amendment
Following a court decision to allow it, this fall voters in Mississippi will get to decide on whether to approve or disapprove an amendment to their state constitution that will define a person as “… every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof.” A “Personhood” amendment as it is most commonly called, has been tried in a few other states in the past.
Here’s the official website for the organization which supports the amendment in Mississippi. The question I have for our readers is – what do you think of this approach? What do you think the outcome of this amendment will be in Mississippi? Opponents say that this will ban birth control; supporters say that this will only prohibit abortions and protect unborn lives.
The amendment will likely be overturned in court after the vote because you change amend the Bill of Rights in Mississippi. Even if the amendment was constitutional on those grounds, it would be overturned as violating Roe. It's just putting the cart before the horse. You can't expect a pro-abortion Supreme Court to uphold a pro-life amendment, the courts must be changed first. Amendment supporters should instead spend their time defeating Obama and electing a pro-life Senate if they truly want to ban abortions. Otherwise they're spinning their wheels. More at http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/09/mississippi-abortion-personhood-amendment-gets-november-vote/
I agree with Steven. Personhood advocates do have good intentions, but ultimately, incrementalism is the only approach that's saved any lives.
Whether unborn children are legally defined as persons or not, whether and to what extent abortion is legal/illegal-abortions will continue on a wide scale as long as women do not have other and better, substantive alternatives. Provided not simply through piecemeal individual charity, but robustly and publicly funded supports in family planning, health care, and everything else needed to prevent unintended pregnancies and get through & beyond any that occur. This personhood amendment is empty. It does not have these supports written right into it. If unborn children are to be treated as persons in actual effect-women need to be treated as fullfledged persons in deed.