Mississippi Personhood Amendment

[rolanni]

Originally posted by gabrielleabelle at Mississippi Personhood Amendment

Okay, so I don't usually do this, but this is an issue near and dear to me and this is getting very little no attention in the mainstream media.

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

Re: I think this about sums it up

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Well, it certainly oversimplifies the debate.

If the...I'll be polite and call it a "discussion". . . was about the sanctity of unborn life above all other life, then the same folks who are against abortion ought to be ALL OVER providing safe, and affordable birth control.

...but they're not.

If the "discussion" was about healthy children reaching balanced adulthoods, then you'd think the folks who are against abortion would be ALL OVER providing safety nets for those same children, to see that EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM has health care, and good food, and good schooling.

...but they're not.

Re: I think this about sums it up

[jessie-c.livejournal.com]

Because, of course, the "discussion" is not about either of those things, nor many more. The sole goal of the "discussion" on the part of the anti-abortionists is to have womens' lives controlled at every opportunity so they can become baby-making machines to pump out more and more True Believers for the Xtian Cause. That some of those babies will suffer poverty and/or neglect is all part of gawd's Plan and shouldn't be interfered with; after all, every good Theocrat needs an underclass to despise.

Where that leaves we who cannot become pregnant nobdy's saying. Probably The Camps. I'm simply appalled that it's got this far, with such a broad support base. The Christofascists' lie-distributing machine is very efficient : (

Re: I think this about sums it up

[(Anonymous)]

Again, VERY well said, Rolanni. If they demand to take responsibility for making a decision as to whether a child is born, they should also take on responsibility for helping that child grow to a healthy and productive adulthood, either directly or through supporting social safety net programs. Funny how that part of the decision/responsibility equation seems to be wholly left out of the calculations of those who most loudly espouse THEIR right to make decisions for everyone else. Cut social programs, they chant. We can't afford them. Their hypocrisy is nauseating.

Anne in Virginia