What is a Personhood Amendment? Contraception, Abortion, IVF, Privacy, Politics

Various personhood laws have been put forth since the 2010 taker over of many state houses. Even the Republican Party  presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, has said on TV with former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee, that he “absolutely” supports a personhood AMENDMENT to the US Constitution. The latest news about Todd Akin, and even more recently senate candidate Dick Mourdock have brought some light onto the Republican VP candidate as well, showing his record and sponsorship for a personhood amendment. And according to Paul Ryan, “the method of conception doesn’t matter.” Wow. Please, Republican Party: stop preaching freedom when in reality you are the forced birth party.

More important than the politics of personhood: I’m beginning to think that the majority of people in the country might not know what personhood means, both in explicite form, as well as the chain reaction of implications on a lot of other reproductive and civil liverty issues from ones own health to the right to privacy.

The Republican base push to pass as many anti-abortion laws as possible since 2010 is unprecedented (above graph). Anyone who still wants to tout that “jobs, jobs, jobs” is **really** what Republicans are focussing on need to turn around, go home, look in the mirror, and be thoroughly embarrassed by themselves. It’s not true.  The Personhood Amendment, and personhood law push takes the republican attack on not stopping all abortions in the country to a new and very unsettling level.

What personhood means according to the laws Republicans are writing

Life begins at conception. That’s how they sell it, and it’s exactly what it means. Conception is cell number one. Sperm meets egg and instantly, right at that moment: conception. I’m not judging whether or not that is “the correct” definition of being a human… but there are a lot of implications as a result of “personhood” that are not yet understood. More  issues, I’m sure, even than what we have listed below.

To declare that stage of an embryo as a person, means that it has exactly the same legal rights as a human being outside of the womb. An argument Pro Life advocates have used for a long time, but not until the fetus has developed some. At conception is what makes it a dangerous proposition, and I don’t think people really understand that.

The important part: the same rights as a person walking around on the street. If that person gets killed, someone is held liable.

Some big questions if personhood laws pass are:

1. A woman miscarries: who goes to jail? There would at least have to be a trial. What if the woman’s doctor told her that she might miscarry due to some sort of health issue, but because she wants a child, she decides to carry the child (well… with a personhood law she would have to, anyway)… but that decision… knowing the fetus will most likely die… is she liable for murder? Negligence? The point is they wanted this to act like a simple ant-abortion bill, but defining a person at conception is much, much more profound than that.
2. Some of the most common forms of contraception work by not allowing an embryo attach to the uterine wall. According to a personhood amendment, and personhood laws, that embryo has the same rights as a human being walking around on the street – which means the person who took that form of contraception – again, VERY common – that peson is a murderer. She needs to go to trial, and if she tool the pill KNOWING that it would do such things, well… that means pre-conceived murder. So… hence personhood laws means many forms of contraception have to be made illegal. When put on the ballet, not even Mississippi voters OK’d it… and both the Republican candidates for President and Vice President “strongly support” personhood.
3. For In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), a perfectly accepted medical procedure that has help probably millions of couples have children…. well… that will be illegal, too. The process of in vitro fertilization always results in embryos, fertilized eggs which have passed the moment of conception, end up not “becoming” children. Some are not used, some are used in the procedure but do not result in a successful pregnancy. The personhood laws and a personhood amendment make that a criminal act; murder. And like any other murder trial, anyone involved is guilty: the couple, the doctors, the nurses, anyone who helped “kill” that embryo.
4. A personhood amendment is an amendment to the US Constitution. That means reversing Roe v. Wade. No more abortion rights anywhere in the United Staes (legally, anyway). Thus far Republicans are trying it on a state-by-state by writing and trying to pass personhood laws, which would end up as a secondary path to overturn Roe v. Wade in the course through challenges of the law, but a personhood amendment is much, much more significant. This is what Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney have vocally supported doing… even though today (Aug. 20th) they back-step on the rap issue… YOU CANNOT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. Personhood = no abortion and no to many forms of contraception, making in vetro fertilization illegal, and who knows how many other things… there is no such thing as a rape exception if they have a personhood amendment.
5. And what about privacy? Freedom? The right to do with our own lives and our own bodies what we want without being manhandled by laws? Republicans who support personhood DON’T care about freedom and liberty and the American way… I don’t even know what they really believe in. Too much hypocrisy to look at without feeling light headed.