Mississippi Personhood Amendment
I actually got this from metaquotes.
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.
***
I did some research and it does seem to be an actual proposed amendment. If the information linked to in this article doesn't get to you, just go read a few of the pages from the Pro-'Personhood' Website. I don't generally do political action at all, but this is very scary to me. Being pregnant right now, and knowing all the effort I've put forth to ensure my baby is healthy and the physical strain I'm going through (voluntarily and with full joy that it's happening, of course) I am appalled at the idea of a woman being forced through this very long and difficult process for a baby that she doesn't even want. The website I linked to actually claims that "if Mississippians vote Yes on Amendment 26, all human beings would be ensured equal rights in our state & protection under law" which obviously isn't true, because the mother is forced to be an unwilling incubator for nine months instead of a person.
Is abortion a tough decision? I'm sure it is. Does it leave lasting emotional and sometimes physical scars? I'm sure it does. But So Would Being Forced To Carry An Unwanted Child! I can't even imagine how a woman would deal with all the questions, the judgements, and stress. Pregnancy should be a joyful time for a woman, not one forced upon her by fear of persecution. In a perfect world, there would be no unwanted pregnancies. This is not a perfect world. Women deserve to have the right to decide what goes on in their own bodies.
I know I'm preaching to the choir here. I am going to write to the Democratic National Committee. I would also appreciate any other suggestions you may have to spread the word against this amendment.
I am also making this post public, in case anyone wants to link to it.
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.
***
I did some research and it does seem to be an actual proposed amendment. If the information linked to in this article doesn't get to you, just go read a few of the pages from the Pro-'Personhood' Website. I don't generally do political action at all, but this is very scary to me. Being pregnant right now, and knowing all the effort I've put forth to ensure my baby is healthy and the physical strain I'm going through (voluntarily and with full joy that it's happening, of course) I am appalled at the idea of a woman being forced through this very long and difficult process for a baby that she doesn't even want. The website I linked to actually claims that "if Mississippians vote Yes on Amendment 26, all human beings would be ensured equal rights in our state & protection under law" which obviously isn't true, because the mother is forced to be an unwilling incubator for nine months instead of a person.
Is abortion a tough decision? I'm sure it is. Does it leave lasting emotional and sometimes physical scars? I'm sure it does. But So Would Being Forced To Carry An Unwanted Child! I can't even imagine how a woman would deal with all the questions, the judgements, and stress. Pregnancy should be a joyful time for a woman, not one forced upon her by fear of persecution. In a perfect world, there would be no unwanted pregnancies. This is not a perfect world. Women deserve to have the right to decide what goes on in their own bodies.
I know I'm preaching to the choir here. I am going to write to the Democratic National Committee. I would also appreciate any other suggestions you may have to spread the word against this amendment.
I am also making this post public, in case anyone wants to link to it.