Mississippi’s Personhood Amendment
November 7, 2011
Tomorrow, November 8th, 2011, Mississippians have the opportunity to vote on an amendment that will end abortion in our state. Since the ACLU and groups like Planned Parenthood can’t take a chance on the democratic process of more people voting Yes than No, they’ve poured millions of dollars into an advertising campaign meant to confuse Pro-Lifers about this amendment. They claim the amendment will make it illegal to take birth control pills or have In Vitro Fertilization, and that miscarriages will be investigated and possibly criminalized. Huh? They’ve talked about incest and rape as being exceptions that should allow us to continue adding to the number of more than 50 million aborted babies. Pro-Lifers are believing the lies, and are hesitating to vote yes because of them. The multi-million dollar ad campaign is working, and it will result in abortion clinics continuing to practice in this state.
Here’s the ballot question: “Should the term ‘person’ be defined to include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof?”
So before we talk about birth control or IVF or rape or incest … settle one issue in your mind. Does life begin at conception? In other words, the second the egg is fertilized, is there a human there? Planned Parenthood would tell you it’s not, that it’s a blob of tissue. But if you agree with me that nine months later a human being, and not a seven-pound blob of tissue, is born, then you should vote Yes. End of story. If you believe that’s true, then voting to end abortion in this state is crucial, regardless of any other argument.
But just to help clear up the confusion, let’s talk about some of those arguments now. In the case of rape or incest, a tragedy has occurred, sometimes repeatedly. Those crimes are evil. But if a baby is conceived through those acts, does killing it make those crimes less evil? Does that bring healing for the victim who’s already suffered trauma? Doesn’t the further evil of ending a baby’s life just add a new level of suffering and despair to that victim? Millions of families are waiting to adopt, and they would love that child regardless of the circumstances of its conception.
In the case of this amendment outlawing birth control pills, that’s ludicrous. Shutting down abortion clinics in Mississippi will not cause women to lose their birth control pills. To my knowledge, birth control pills don’t cause fertilized eggs to be aborted. They simply keep women from ovulating so that their ovaries don’t release eggs. But if they were right … if birth control pills did somehow abort fertilized eggs (aka babies), wouldn’t you want to know about that? Wouldn’t you still agree that a fertilized egg is a life? Would anything about birth control pills make that truth less true?
As for IVF, the problem is that fertilized eggs are often disposed of rather than implanted in a woman’s womb. There are ways around this. They can freeze embryos and give them for adoption to couples with fertility problems, for instance. But if it turned out that IVF did result in aborted fetuses, and as a result was more regulated in this state, would the statement of personhood be any less true? Is it only true that a baby is a human person at conception, as long as IVF isn’t impacted in any way?
Is it true, or isn’t it?
For the ACLU and their ilk to suggest that our state would criminalize miscarriages and investigate women who are grieving is ludicrous. Why on earth would such a thing happen? Unfortunately, women will continue to have miscarriages, but with this amendment, perhaps people would recognize that these couples are grieving their children, instead of blobs of tissue that they didn’t even know. I have never experienced a miscarriage, but those who have know that the loss of a child, at any age, is a matter of deep sorrow. To suggest that our police force will be digging around to see if someone “caused” those miscarriages is one of the biggest lies to come out of this campaign.
But again, even if that ludicrous suggestion were true, do you still believe that life begins at conception? That the fertilized egg is, in fact, a human being?
Finally, there’s the situation in which the life of the mother depends on terminating her child. Doctors will tell you
how rare that situation is. Some doctors say it never happens. I won’t attempt to talk about the medical aspects of that. I can only ask you this.
Is it still true that life begins at conception? That the fertilized egg in that mother’s womb is, in fact, a human baby? Does the very rare situation in which a mother’s life is endangered by a pregnancy make that statement any less true? Is it a baby, or isn’t it?
If it is, then doctors will work to do what’s necessary to save both lives. They won’t suddenly start killing mothers to save babies. Mothers are already considered Persons. They won’t refuse to treat one or the other and let them die. They’ll do their best with both lives.
But even if they didn’t, I ask you again, would the statement we’re voting on be any less true? Would you decide then that it’s not true that a baby is a human life at conception? Would you convince yourself that, no, it’s not a human life, after all? It really is just a blob of tissue, because that works better within our legal system and our system of ethics?
If you believe a life begins at conception, and that conception occurs when the egg is fertilized, then you must vote Yes to Proposition 26. If you want abortion clinics shut down in our state, then you must vote Yes. If you want the most innocent of our population, no matter what age, to be given the dignity, respect and protection given to any of our other citizens, then you must vote Yes to Proposition 26.
We have one chance to end abortion in our state, and that could encourage other states to follow suit. If we squander this opportunity, I believe we will be accountable to God. It’s not okay to sit this one out. If you live in Mississippi and are registered to vote, you need to make a decision now.
Is it a life, or isn’t it?
“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” Psalm 139:13-14
