Mississippi Personhood Amendment
Originally posted by twbasketcase at Mississippi Personhood Amendment
Originally posted by gabrielleabelle at Mississippi Personhood Amendment
Slightly modified from its original form to reflect my own views and personal circumstances.
Okay, so I wouldn't usually do this, especially since I'm a citizen of a country in which ideas like this don't generally have a whole lot of mainstream support, but this is an issue near and dear to me and this is getting very little no attention in the American 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.
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 believe that laws like this, that would criminalize women for trying to take control over their own fertility or for having a miscarriage (which, by the way, is the most common complication of early pregancy and happens to approximately 10% to 25% of pregnancies, dependng on what study you read), are deeply harmful. Miscarriages happen for a lot of reasons, and not all of these reasons have been clearly identified even now. And as for outlawing birth control...there are good reasons for a woman to want to use it. The power to decide when, if ever, one has children is absolutely necessary.
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. I've known about this for awhile, because I read several feminist blogs, but I would likely not have heard about it otherwise. The mainstream media is not reporting on it to any significant degree.
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 your representatives aren't speaking out against this.
- Like this Facebook page to help spread awareness.
Originally posted by gabrielleabelle at Mississippi Personhood Amendment
Slightly modified from its original form to reflect my own views and personal circumstances.
Okay, so I wouldn't usually do this, especially since I'm a citizen of a country in which ideas like this don't generally have a whole lot of mainstream support, but this is an issue near and dear to me and this is getting very little no attention in the American 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.
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 believe that laws like this, that would criminalize women for trying to take control over their own fertility or for having a miscarriage (which, by the way, is the most common complication of early pregancy and happens to approximately 10% to 25% of pregnancies, dependng on what study you read), are deeply harmful. Miscarriages happen for a lot of reasons, and not all of these reasons have been clearly identified even now. And as for outlawing birth control...there are good reasons for a woman to want to use it. The power to decide when, if ever, one has children is absolutely necessary.
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. I've known about this for awhile, because I read several feminist blogs, but I would likely not have heard about it otherwise. The mainstream media is not reporting on it to any significant degree.
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 your representatives aren't speaking out against this.
- Like this Facebook page to help spread awareness.