Mississippi Personhood Amendment

[pacificpikachu]

Not normally one to repost things in my blog, but I am extremely pro-reproductive choice and I think it's essential this gets more publicity. Let's strike this down!

Originally posted by gabrielleabelle at Mississippi Personhood Amendment

Mississippi is voting on November 8th on whether to pass Amendment 26, the "Personhood Amendment". This amendment would grant fertilized eggs and fetuses personhood status.

Putting aside the contentious issue of abortion, this would effectively outlaw birth control and criminalize women who have miscarriages. This is not a good thing.

Jackson Women's Health Organization is the only place women can get abortions in the entire state, and they are trying to launch a grassroots movement against this amendment. This doesn't just apply to Mississippi, though, as Personhood USA, the group that introduced this amendment, is trying to introduce identical amendments in all 50 states.

What's more, in Mississippi, this amendment is expected to pass. It even has Mississippi Democrats, including the Attorney General, Jim Hood, backing it.

The reason I'm posting this here is because I made a meager donation to the Jackson Women's Health Organization this morning, and I received a personal email back hours later - on a Sunday - thanking me and noting that I'm one of the first "outside" people to contribute.

So if you sometimes pass on political action because you figure that enough other people will do something to make a difference, make an exception on this one. My RSS reader is near silent on this amendment. I only found out about it through a feminist blog. The mainstream media is not reporting on it.

If there is ever a time to donate or send a letter in protest, this would be it.

What to do?

- Read up on it. Wake Up, Mississippi is the home of the grassroots effort to fight this amendment. Daily Kos also has a thorough story on it.

- If you can afford it, you can donate at the site's link.

- You can contact the Democratic National Committee to see why more of our representatives aren't speaking out against this.

- Like this Facebook page to help spread awareness.

Comments

[yaoi-queen.livejournal.com]

While I'm not surprised one of the southern states is doing this, I still can't help but be appalled by it. What nerve they have. Women need their rights and choices! I've always been pro-choice. I hope that amendment doesn't pass. Life for women in that state would just get worse. :/

[growly.livejournal.com]

Someone unadded me over this. I literally cannot understand how anyone could possibly be against this. D: Buuuut this same guy once said liberals belong in concentration camps, SO I think he's just crazy.

[pacificpikachu.livejournal.com]

Ahh, people. D: I really don't think it's in anyone's rights to say what a woman does and does not do with her own body, especially when it comes to something as emotional as having or not having a baby. That should be for each individual to decide.

I do think trying to prevent abortions in the first place (birth control and sex education) is the way to go. Birth control for everyone who wants it! Abortion is certainly not a happy thing, but it is necessary to be a free and fair society.

That quote, though, I think crazy hit the nail on the head. XD I strongly disagree with social conservatives, but I'd never say something like that! D:

[fishnow.livejournal.com]

So does it ACTUALLY say anything about birth control and miscarriages? Or are people just coming up with the worst scenario possible because we can't talk about it without doing so?

I don't agree with the idea of this at all, but I don't think it helps anybody to be kneejerk about it, either. As far as I understand it, it's simply saying that life begins once an egg is fertilized. If there's actually more to be read, then I'll gladly read it, but I'd like to see source material and not a bunch of, well, protest websites that are obviously going to be pushing their own agenda. Everyone brings up the concern of birth control and miscarriages being affected, but no one can really give any good reason as to why they actually think that.

[pacificpikachu.livejournal.com]

You bring up a good point! To be perfectly honest, I haven't read much more about it yet (perhaps I should have before I posted, but I digress), but I'll go do some reading on it tonight.

That said, I do think it's good to keep conversation going on reproductive rights, and I do horribly disagree with anything sneaky the religious right tries to pull regarding reproduction and limitations and redefining words. It's clear what their agenda is, and I imagine redefining life in such a way would, at the very least, make emergency contraception an issue.

I doubt any state would be able to pass anything criminalizing miscarriage, to be honest. Our country is just slightly more sane than that (not saying much, but, y'know).