"Personhood" Defeated in Missouri

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by Robin Marty, RH Reality Check

May 4, 2010 - 4:03pm (Print)

A move to define a fertilized egg as a person in the state of Missouri was dealt a blow, as anti-abortion activists failed to get enough signatures to put the issue on a ballot.  According to Planned Parenthood Affiliates in Missouri, the group Personhood Missouri, who was spearheading the campaign, received "only a fraction" of the 150,000 signatures that would be required.

Clearly Missourians found this measure too extreme and did not support putting it on the ballot. The measure attempted to redefine “person” in such a way that may force the government to ban many common and life-saving medical treatments, including

  • Commonly used forms of birth control, (used by 95% of women at sometime in their life)
  • Treatments for cancer, life-threatening pregnancies and infertility,
  • Abortion even in cases of rape, incest or when a woman’s life is in danger

Rather than wage an election battle over this extreme measure, Planned Parenthood urges voters and elected officials to join us in focusing on prevention and education which is what we do every single day.

Similar initiatives are still being played out in multiple states, such as in Colorado, where "Personhood" did get added to the 2010 ballot. Colorado voters rejected defining a fertilized egg as a person in 2008.

Follow Robin Marty on Twitter, @robinmarty

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The United States: Where Pregnancy is Probationary and Your Body Is a Crime Scene

by Soraya Chemaly
May 16, 7:26pm
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Bei Bei Shuai's case means that all pregnant women are potential criminals and that their bodies can be treated as potential crime scenes. How the "pro-life" movement is threatening to imprison a depressed woman for up to 45 years for attempting suicide.

“I Can’t Believe I Still Have to Protest This:” Abortion Rights in Canada

by Tanya Castle
May 9, 5:11am
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On April 26th Canada’s Parliament debated M-312, a motion that calls for the formation of a special committee of Parliament to review whether the definition of a “human being” as described in the Canadian criminal code can be extended to unborn fetuses.

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RedRoseSpiral Proud May 4, 2010 - 5:00pm

This is one of the few times in my life that I'm proud to live in Missouri.

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crowepps It won't go away, because that's where the money is May 4, 2010 - 6:11pm

In just five short years, the primary movers and shakers in the absolutist anti-abortion/anti-choice movement seeking to promote the “personhood” of zygotes (the single cell that forms after a sperm fertilizes an egg) have amassed nearly $58 million in tax-deductible contributions for their cause. ... The cottage industry that has been borne of the "personhood" movement is certain to grow larger in years to come. Despite the crushing 3-to-1 electoral loss for Colorado's amendment, ALL's communication director Katie Walker made this startling admission to the Christian newswire OneNewsNow.com about the league's future:

 

"The idea of personhood in this movement is really the only thing, the only option left to us, and it’s one of the best options and one of the most beautiful concepts I’ve heard in a long time, she contends. We’re very excited about it."

 

http://www.unbossed.com/index.php?itemid=2725