Mississippi Personhood Amendment

[teaberryblue]

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

[yachiru]

I saw that on Rachel Maddow I think and I read that some versions even made birth control illegal.

[zia-narratora.livejournal.com]

It doesn't come out and say birth control is illegal but some portions of it could be interpreted in such a way, which is the problem. Ugh.

[hymnicide.livejournal.com]

Reposted this on my tumblr. Thank you for spreading the news around!

[zia-narratora.livejournal.com]

Thank you too!

[tinyplasticmeat.livejournal.com]

This is scary as hell. I'd be in dire straits without my birth control, and have already had issues with pharmacists who didn't want to sell it to me. Luckily I've always had other places to go. If laws like this are passed I'll end up a criminal myself.

Facebooked.

[phreakphantasia.livejournal.com]

I put this on my Twitter. I just don't understand why some people think that they have the right to dictate what others do to their own bodies. People so suck. :(

[zia-narratora.livejournal.com]

Because the people at the top of the kyriarchy are threatened by the fact that they have done nothing to deserve the privilege they were born into, and will do everything to maintain that privilege at the expense of other human beings.

[trouserminnow.livejournal.com]

It scares me that this is so close to home and I've only just heard about it. I mean, LA put creationism and vouchers in public schools, so is this next? I mean, are we really doomed to live out life as envisioned in Parable of the Sower?

[zia-narratora.livejournal.com]

IF WE ARE GOING TO LIVE OUT GOSPEL STORIES I WOULD LIKE TO PUT IN MY VOTE FOR THE MARRIAGE AT CANA PLEASE.

[trouserminnow.livejournal.com]

yo, i was repping octavia butler there. i love her books. regardless, thanks for being so rad in NYC

[supertailz.livejournal.com]

1. Can I link to this post?
2. HELP I FEEL DUMB. I can't figure out how/where on their page to donate!

[zia-narratora.livejournal.com]

Link to the original post!!!

http://gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com/339685.html

I just copypastad it using the repost button.

http://www.wakeupmississippi.org/ has a donate button right smack in the middle of the page!! It is hard to miss!!!

[supertailz.livejournal.com]

Oh hah, I am dumb. I was looking for it on the JWHO page instead:)

[zia-narratora.livejournal.com]

Ah, oops!!

[nyxocity.livejournal.com]

You'll probably be happy to know that this is completely not a threat.

"Mississippi's personhood ballot measure, which gives full rights as a citizen to a fertilized egg is completely unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has held over and over in recent years as part of the stem cell debate that fertilized eggs are not people. Multicell blastocysts are not people. The state of Mississippi has no authority to alter this in any way, and the law will be held unconstitutional immediately."

This is a scare tactic to distract Democrats from other missions we should be focusing on and to increase Republican turn out at the 2012 election.

More info here: http://amenirdis.livejournal.com/237568.html