Mississippi's proposed Amendment 26 to ban birth control and abortion

[Emmett L. Brown]

I'm an organ donor. When I die, if it's possible, I want my remains to help save lives rather than be left to decompose. So I'm perfectly okay with human remains, including embryos and fetuses, being used to advance research that could save people in the future.

Isn't that a more meaningful death than being left to rot?

[Match]

UPDATE:

Uh oh. I can't drive anywhere without seeing signs in people's yards.

"VOTE FOR LIFE

VOTE YES TO 26"

And then a little picture of a woman and child. No one will listen to me when I try to explain this to me.

I think they read the part saying "Abortion" and instantly opposed it. I at least understand why these people would be against abortion, but...ugh

What's worse is that there's one outside the place where I get my coffee. I am not letting my children grow up in a state where this is the law.

Edited October 25, 2011 by A Match in Oil Ocean Zone

[No more]

UPDATE:

Uh oh. I can't drive anywhere without seeing signs in people's yards.

"VOTE FOR LIFE

VOTE YES TO 26"

And then a little picture of a woman and child. No one will listen to me when I try to explain this to me.

I think they read the part saying "Abortion" and instantly opposed it. You can't ban birth control, you just...ugh.

What's worse is that there's one outside the place where I get my coffee. I am not letting my children grow up in a state where this is the law.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

These are the people who don't know about that kind of thing and probably don't give a fuck if it grows abnormal and life threatening. So I doubt that would even get through to them, if someone's already tried.

[Kevin]

The initiative has been rejected. I'm surprised at the results. I thought it was going to pass considering Mississippi is one of the most conservative and religious states in the union.

No doubt this would of faced an instant challenge in court if it had passed, but it looks like a legal mess has been avoided for now.

[Tornado]

I'm not really surprised. This from the start, Mississippi or not, was something that only would have passed due to voter apathy (like how Proposition 8 squeaked through a few years ago), so I'm simply assuming that the shitstorm caused about it led to increased voter turnout.

Edited November 9, 2011 by Tornado

[SchemingMinor]

If Mississippi's anywhere like I live then the number of teenage parents is going to rocket. What if the baby had abnormally been grown inside the womb and if it was to be born naturally it was going to kill the mother? They couldn't let the mother die as that is against the oath doctors take

Edited November 9, 2011 by Kintobor

[Patticus]

The initiative has been rejected. I'm surprised at the results. I thought it was going to pass considering Mississippi is one of the most conservative and religious states in the union.

No doubt this would of faced an instant challenge in court if it had passed, but it looks like a legal mess has been avoided for now.

Had the initiative been passed, the black market in birth control and back street abortion clinics would've gone into overdrive, putting many thousands of women of all ages in danger. There is absolutely no sense in banning abortion or birth control, particularly on religious grounds.

Sadly, large parts of the US still seem trapped in the clutches of a particularly virulent and dangerous religious fervour. To speak out is to risk being accused of being 'unAmerican', with all the McCarthyite overtones that conjures up. It's horrible - a gross and obscene distortion of a nation whose very Constitution once specifically proscribed against the politicisation of religion within the state, having seen the utter havoc it had caused (repeatedly) across Europe.

[TheGerkuman]

The thing is though, there were no safeguards to stop the loophole that the Religious Right uses; staying seperate but using their money and voting power to influence the elephant side of the equation. And no-one wants to stop the Religious Right from doing that because it means that the Democrats can't use the same tactics either.

[Kevin]

Had the initiative been passed, the black market in birth control and back street abortion clinics would've gone into overdrive, putting many thousands of women of all ages in danger. There is absolutely no sense in banning abortion or birth control, particularly on religious grounds.

Sadly, large parts of the US still seem trapped in the clutches of a particularly virulent and dangerous religious fervour. To speak out is to risk being accused of being 'unAmerican', with all the McCarthyite overtones that conjures up. It's horrible - a gross and obscene distortion of a nation whose very Constitution once specifically proscribed against the politicisation of religion within the state, having seen the utter havoc it had caused (repeatedly) across Europe.

Agreed. This initiative was so broad it would of had many unintended consequences with it. It wouldn't even solve the issue of abortion anyway.

[Emmett L. Brown]

Abstinence-only sex education has contributed to many higher rates of teenage pregnancy in comparison to regular sex education where it teaches condom use or a combination of the two.

IRONY!!!

But also extremely tragic that these people simply cannot fathom how the human body functions. Puberty isn't something you can counteract with prayer and a stern attitude. You can't stop teens from having sex. Abstinence only prevents preventatives.

[TheGerkuman]

Abstinence is perfectly doable, but only part of the population wants to. That's why contraceptives were invented, to give people a choice.

The irony in Britain is that its an inversion of the US one: no-one will even suggest abstinence as an alternative since it would lose them grant money.

[Emmett L. Brown]

Abstinence is perfectly doable, but only part of the population wants to.

Let me clarify: Enforced abstinence is impossible. If someone simply doesn't want to have sex, then gosh it's the easiest thing in the world to just not have sex. People seem to manage it all the time by accident.

Enforcing abstinence on teenagers, now that's simply not going to happen without changing how human beings function. What's even more ridiculous is that the people trying to force abstinence will at the same time present masturbation as something sinful and disgusting. That's just not healthy.

[SchemingMinor]

Let me clarify: Enforced abstinence is impossible. If someone simply doesn't want to have sex, then gosh it's the easiest thing in the world to just not have sex. People seem to manage it all the time by accident.

Enforcing abstinence on teenagers, now that's simply not going to happen without changing how human beings function. What's even more ridiculous is that the people trying to force abstinence will at the same time present masturbation as something sinful and disgusting. That's just not healthy.

[-Robin-]

The battle in Mississippi may be over, but Republicans in Congress, including GOP candidates, aren't taking it lying down.

Sixty-three House Republicans, or over a quarter of the GOP conference, are cosponsors of HR 212, Rep. Paul Broun's (R-Ga.) "Sanctity of Human Life Act," which includes language that directly parallels that of the Mississippi personhood amendment. That bill declares that "the life of each human being begins with fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent…at which time every human being shall have all the legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood." Five committee chairmen, including budget wunderkind Ryan, support the bill. "There is no greater protection that we as a government can give to protect human beings all the way from the time of fertilization until they have natural deaths," Broun says.

Rep. Duncan Hunter's (R-Calif.) HR 374, an ever-so-slightly tweaked version that includes a clause that says it does not "require"(although it does allow) "the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child," has even more cosponsors—91, including Bachmann (R-Minn.). Nearly 40 percent of House Republicans back this bill, which, like HR 212 and the Mississippi amendment, has language saying that "human persons" exist from "the moment of fertilization" or from any "other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being."

In the Senate, Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) has introduced S 91, a companion bill to HR 374. Wickerhas said he hopes his bill will "settle this important life issue once and for all." More than a quarter of Senate Republicans back the proposal.

"These are the kind of measures, whether state or federal, that would end up at the Supreme Court eventually," Rosenbaum says. "I assume that's the next step."

Edited November 14, 2011 by Razor Wind

[Tornado]

If they couldn't even get the thing to pass in Mississippi (Mississippi!), who really cares if idiots in House Republicans want to commit political suicide by sponsoring this one?

Doing the math up in my head, 40% of House Republicans is only a quarter of the House, so it would never make it out of it in the first place; let alone make it through the Senate or be signed by Obama.

[Nepenthe]

Would I be typical in pointing out that these people are concerned a hell of a lot about the safety and rights of fetuses but seem to become a lot less vigilant over that safety and those rights once they're actually born? Let's hope this bill is shot down too.

[-Robin-]

I feel the need to revive this. If that's not permitted, I'm sorry.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/16/personhood-law-oklahoma-s_n_1280977.html

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma Senate has overwhelmingly approved an anti-abortion "personhood" bill that declares life begins at conception.

The vote Wednesday upset doctors who fear the proposed law will jeopardize reproductive medicine.

The bill now heads to the House, where it is expected to pass. Republican Gov. Mary Fallin typically won't comment on pending legislation, but she has described herself as strongly "pro-life."

The bill provides embryos and fetuses with "all the rights privileges, and immunities" of other citizens.

Republican Sen. Brian Crain says it's modeled after a 1986 Missouri law that was later determined by the U.S. Supreme Court to be constitutional.

The bill is opposed by the Oklahoma State Medical Association, because of concerns it could affect reproductive medicine and ban certain forms of birth control.

Apparently, OK was not the first one since the Mississippi debacle to pass this. Iowa and Virginia have done the same a week ago.

Needless to say, I'm incredibly livid. The bill has to go through the OK House first before it can become law, but with how Republican-based it is right now, it'll probably breeze through.

Was there any news about this going on where the public could let their voices be heard? Because it's blatantly unfair if that wasn't the case.

I feel addictinginfo has an accurate sentiment over this:

Anti-abortion advocates and Republicans are no longer content with the American people deciding on personhood amendments via the vote. They know that each of their attempts to pass such amendments have failed, such as in Colorado and Mississippi. So, they are now just using the government to force personhood and anti-abortion laws upon us. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how Republicans view the will of the American people.

If we don’t join them, they’ll force us to.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/02/16/oklahoma-senate-passes-personhood-act-effectively-banning-all-abortions/

Edited February 17, 2012 by Professor Westwood V

[The Weeb with No Name]

Would me not trying to impregnate as many women as I possibly could be just as sinful as using contraception?

[Patticus]

I feel the need to revive this. If that's not permitted, I'm sorry.

http://www.huffingto..._n_1280977.html

Apparently, OK was not the first one since the Mississippi debacle to pass this. Iowa and Virginia have done the same a week ago.

Needless to say, I'm incredibly livid. The bill has to go through the OK House first before it can become law, but with how Republican-based it is right now, it'll probably breeze through.

Was there any news about this going on where the public could let their voices be heard? Because it's blatantly unfair if that wasn't the case.

I feel addictinginfo has an accurate sentiment over this:

http://www.addicting...-all-abortions/

I guess you could say...

*dons shades*

It's not OK.

*YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH*

So much for the entire concept of the Republican Party not wanting the government to have excessive power over the people.

[Candescence]

So much for the entire concept of the Republican Party not wanting the government to have excessive power over the people.

Ah, hypocrisy. Such a wonderful thing, is it not?

[Patticus]

And if you think that OK's ban on abortions is fucked up, check this out:

Right now there is a law that has passed the Virginia legislature that would mandate a trans-vaginal ultrasound for anyone seeking an abortion. No exceptions.

Now that in and of itself does not sound so scary, right? Wrong. A trans-vaginal ultrasound is not a normal type of ultrasound. It is an ultrasound that is taken by sticking a probe into a woman’s vagina. And it is completely and totally medically unnecessary. The Republican legislators who have passedthis bill admit to it being completely medically unnecessary. It exists for the sole purpose of discouraging women from getting abortions.

I honestly could care less what your personal views on abortion are, but here’s something we have to get straight right now: no matter how you feel about abortion or why, this is government-mandated rape. Think I’m exaggerating? Let’s look at how rape is defined by the federal government of the United States of America:

• “The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” (Source)
  

Let’s re-iterate here: there are no exceptions. It doesn't matter if you are getting an abortion one week or eight months into your pregnancy. You will be forcibly probed. It doesn't matter if you are aborting for personal reasons or because it’s a medical necessity for either your safety or the safety of your child. You will be forcibly probed. It doesn't matter if you are fourteen or forty. You will be forcibly probed. It does not matter if your child is the product of incest or even the product of rape. You will be forcibly probed.

Now, I don’t live or vote in Virginia. Technically, there is nothing I can do about this. But currently this bill is on the way to the governor’s desk, and the only hope there is of it not becoming law is if Virginia citizens contact the Governor and tell him about their opposition to him signing this into law. (Contact information is here. Please note that calling generally carries more weight than e-mailing does.)

Please re-blog this story. E-mail it to everyone you know. Tell them to e-mail it to everyone they know. Eventually, some of these people we all know should be from Virginia, and if you are from Virginia, you need to let your voice be heard now. Regardless of if you think life begins at conception, there is no justification, ever, for the government mandating the rape of women.

http://thedreamthatd...st/17651850702/

I... I just... there are no words.

[Dark Qiviut]

And if you think that OK's ban on abortions is fucked up, check this out:

http://thedreamthatd...st/17651850702/

I... I just... there are no words.

Excuse my language, but…

WHAT THE FUCK?

Virginia's law is absolutely dumb. Congratulations, Republicans. You honestly FUCKED up here!

I smell a HUGE lawsuit coming the government's way.

[Patticus]

I don't know Republicans can continue to insist that forcing people to have medical insurance is an infringement on personal freedoms, but forcing women to have probes stuck up their genitals is not.

Frankly, I think that the state-sponsored violations of the women of Virginia and the dirty tactics being used to outright ban abortions are far more serious an issue. At least giving 50 million Americans insurance helps that wealthy nation's poorest and neediest.

[Johnny Boy]

Man, things are getting way out of hand on this issue.