To my great relief late Tuesday night, it finally became clear that Mississippi's "personhood" initiative was not going to pass.
The initiative sought to "define the word 'person' or 'persons' to include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof."
The final tally according to Mississippi and Wikipedia marked 58% (464,712)of voters rejecting the initiative to the 42%(333,191) of voters who supported it.
While Planned Parenthood, Naral Pro-Choice and other women's reproductive health groups applauded the results, they also made it clear that this small victory is only a small chapter in the ongoing attacks against reproductive freedom. The disturbing trend of legislation aimed at extending legal rights to the "pre-born" over the already born reinforces my fear that once a women becomes pregnant she will no longer have to basic human right to own and make decisions about her body. This type of "pro-life" legislation is anything but supporting the life of the women who are undoubtedly people.
To sign the petition started by Emily's list (a pro women pro democrat organization), click the link above.
For more on Initiative 26 and other "personhood" legislation visit Pro-Choice America
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