Wisconsin Personhood Amendment introduced

Legislation that would amend the Wisconsin Constitution to apply personhood rights to preborn children at all stages of development was introduced on Thursday. Assembly Joint Resolution (AJR) 77, authored by Representative Andre Jacque (R-Green Bay), extends the inalienable right to life found in the Wisconsin Constitution to all preborn children from the beginning of their lives. Senator Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) is the lead author in the State Senate. An amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution requires passage in two successive legislatures followed by a simple majority vote of the people. Click here to read the amendment language, and click here to view PLW's legislative memo. Click here for a national story on the opposition’s reaction.

From a pro-life perspective, the Wisconsin Constitution contains a glaring error at its outset. In specifying the beneficiaries of its human rights, our state constitution leaves out the preborn. It applies rights to only those people who are "born." Representative Jacque is proposing a minimal but absolutely essential correction, a personhood amendment, to make the Wisconsin Constitution cover all people, every person, at any stage of development.

Assembly Joint Resolution 77 tracks the original constitutional language as closely as grammatically possible, only substituting the inclusive personhood definition for the word "born." That definition is as follows: As applied to the right to life, the terms "people" and "person” shall apply to every human being at any stage of development. Such a definition is indispensable to spreading the protective cover of Wisconsin’s constitution over all its citizens.

The amendment language reads as follows:

Article 1. Declaration of Rights. Equality; inherent rights. SECTION 1. All people are equally free and independet, and have certain inherent rights; among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; to secure these rights, governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. As applied to the right to life, the terms "people" and "person" shall apply to every human being at any stage of development.

Should Roe v. Wade be overturned someday and the abortion issue remanded to the states, an activist Wisconsin Supreme Court could (and very likely would) use the word “born” in our current state constitution to deny the right to life of the preborn by interpreting an independent right to abortion in that document. In so doing, the court could nullify any present or future pro-life laws in our state. The changing makeup of the Wisconsin Legislature could also jeopardize any pro-life laws in our state. Every two years our state election process determines the majority party in Madison. Legal protection of the preborn should not (and must not) be contingent upon which party controls the state legislature. The right to life should not be subject to the whims of a politicized supreme court or an ever-changing legislature. Only by enshrining the right to life in our state constitution will preborn children be afforded full and lasting legal protection. 

The introduction of the Wisconsin Personhood Amendment is a watershed moment in the history of the pro-life movement in our state. It seeks to end abortion in Wisconsin, not to regulate or restrict it. It seeks to end all violence toward preborn children in Wisconsin – surgical, chemical, experimental, etc. – at all stages of development. We have been working toward the introduction of such an amendment for the last five years, and we thank Representative Jacque for demonstrating the courage of his convictions in finally making it a reality.

We also thank the co-sponsors of the bill for their principled stand in supporting the amendment: Senator Grothman and Representatives Dan LeMahieu, Don Pridemore, David Craig, Jeremy Thiesfeldt, Evan Wynn, and Tom Larson.

The Wisconsin Personhood Amendment is not intended, or worded, as a challenge to Roe, or as an attempt to define personhood under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. It seeks only to bring into the Wisconsin Constitution a true definition of human life as endorsed by Wisconsin citizens speaking through the amendment process, thus making the highest law in our state cover all people, every person, at any stage of development. We recognize that its protections cannot be fully effective as long as Roe remains law, but we believe a proper definition of personhood should be in place should Wisconsin be freed from the effects of that noxious decision.

The Wisconsin Personhood Amendment has been endorsed by Wisconsin Family Action, Personhood USA, Pastor Walter Hoye of the Issues4Life Foundation, American Life League, and Charles E. Rice, Professor Emeritus of Law, University of Notre Dame. For more information on the Wisconsin Personhood Amendment, check out www.personhoodwisconsin.com.

Take Action!

Please CALL or EMAIL your state representative and state senator now and urge him or her to support AJR 77, the “Wisconsin Personhood Amendment.” 

Tell your legislators to extend the inalienable right to life found in the Wisconsin Constitution to all preborn children at all stages of development.

If your legislator is a co-sponsor of AJR 77, please thank him!

To find out who your state legislators are, click here for PLW's website and scroll over the Legislative Affairs menu item at the top of the page. A drop down menu will appear. Click on the Speak Up icon and then scroll down the page and click on Who Are My Wisconsin Lawmakers? Type in your street address, city and zip code. The names and contact information of your state senator and state representative will appear.

Once you know who your state legislators are, go back to the Speak Up page and use the links listed under Email Your Government Officials to send your email to your state senator and state representative. That way PLW will receive a copy of your email which will enable us to monitor the activity of our grassroots advocacy campaigns.

If you prefer to leave a telephone message with your state legislator, call the toll-free State Legislative Hotline at (800) 362-9472. Or call the legislator’s office directly. Thank you!

Pro-Life Wisconsin

Mississippi fails to pass Personhood amendment

In a highly anticipated race last night, Mississippi’s Amendment 26 failed to garner sufficient votes to extend the definition of ‘person’ to every human being from the moment of fertilization. Voters rejected the amendment by a margin of 58 to 42 percent.

“Personhood USA understands that changing a culture - and changing a country - will not happen with one election, and so it is not unexpected. We thank the over one quarter of a million Mississippians who voted for Amendment 26,” said Keith Mason, president of Personhood USA, after the vote.

Personhood Mississippi had hoped that their efforts would work to erode the 38 year death grip that Roe v. Wade has held on human life in the womb through legalized abortion.

“Personhood is the key to all human rights,” Mason had said prior to the vote.

To put the amendment on last night’s ballot, Personhood Mississippi was required to collect and certify 89,285 signatures from registered voters. They exceeded that requirement by over 40,000 signatures.

A legal memorandum on the Mississippi Personhood Amendment prepared by Liberty Counsel stated that the term “fertilization” was used in the Amendment instead of the more familiar term “conception” to avoid “confusion and varying interpretations by some in the scientific, medical, and/or bioethics fields.”

The initiative was controversial even among pro-life leaders, some of whom were skeptical that the amendment would do any good for the pro-life cause, saying that it was not the right legislative vehicle to end abortion.

continue at LifeSiteNews

Don't be that disappointed.  42% voted for this thing!  I hope you do understand how significant that is.  Half the pro-life bureaucracy opposes Personhood and it still despite all their efforts (not to mention the abortion community's push) got 42%.  That tells me Personhood really can be passed.  It is not just a pipe dream anymore, it is the movement that could define this country for the next 100 years. 

WRTL: "do not co-sponsor or support personhood"

TO: State lawmakers
FROM: Susan Armacost, Legislative Director
RE: Please do not co-sponsor or support personhood bill (LRB 2859/1)

Wisconsin Right to Life has been forthright in our opposition to legislation to declare unborn children persons under the State Constitution. We appreciate the fact the author and the organizations that support his legislation want to protect the lives of unborn children. However, the personhood proposal is not only unnecessary, it would also put efforts to protect Wisconsin unborn children at extreme risk.

In a few weeks, we will be presenting you with an extensive legal white paper pointing out the pitfalls of the personhood legislation. The white paper will be signed by numerous constitutional legal experts on the state and national levels.

In the meantime, we would like to make the following points:

A prominent Wisconsin attorney who works with Wisconsin Right to Life was quoted out of context by supporters of the personhood bill, giving the impression that this attorney does not support Wisconsin Right to Life's position on personhood. This is inaccurate.

The impression was given by supporters of the personhood bill that a different constitutional expert who works with Wisconsin Right to Life has changed his mind on the personhood issue. This is also inaccurate.

Wisconsin Right to Life and its multiple legal advisors disagree with the legal analyses circulated to date by supporters of the personhood bill. The Wisconsin Right to Life legal white paper that will be sent to you will be signed by numerous legal experts and will outline the legal concerns with the personhood legislation.


We continue to ask legislators not to co-sponsor or support this legislation.

Thank you.

It will be interesting to see if WRTL ever brings up the whole might infringe on contraceptive rights argument.  The whole hypothetical argument that we end up worse off than we are today that has no legal precedent isn't convincing anybody on either side in this state so far.  National Right to Life has a vested interest.  If things get "bad" I would expect them to start sending more people in to scare people away from voting for it.  This state passed the marriage amendment 60-40... the hardest part of the battle is likely getting it on the ballot with pro-abort Republicans eager to be "sensible."

Wisconsin Family Action endorses Wisconsin Personhood

Wisconsin Family Action (WFA) has endorsed the Wisconsin Personhood Amendment, legislation that would amend the Wisconsin Constitution to apply personhood rights to preborn children at all stages of development. WFA is an associate of Focus on the Family. Click here for the WFA legislative memo urging co-sponsorship of the personhood amendment. Pro-Life Wisconsin agrees with WFA’s legal findings and conclusions.

Ironically, Clarke Forsythe of Americans United for Life - the pro-life attorney Wisconsin Right to Life brought in for their Day at the Capitol in February to oppose a personhood amendment in Wisconsin — seems to be warming up to the idea of personhood! Forsythe recently penned a column in the Washington Times entitled "Saving Personhood" in which he argues that "recognition of the personhood of the unborn child is a movement as old as English common law." According to Forsythe, "[s]tate protection of the unborn child as a person is no longer a novel thing. It grows year by year, state by state, and the public supports it."

For more information on the Wisconsin Personhood Amendment, please go to PersonhoodWisconsin.com.

This a big endorsement for WI Personhood.   WFA lead the charge and is basically responsible for passing the Wisconsin Marriage Amendment, not to mention leading the charge to repeal the terrible sex-ed bill passed recently.  A great organization with a fantastic track record.

Wisconsin Personhood seeks co-sponsorship in state assembly

On Wednesday State Representative Andre Jacque (R-Green Bay) began circulating for co-sponsorship the Wisconsin Personhood Amendment, legislation that would amend the Wisconsin Constitution to apply personhood rights to preborn children at all stages of development. Click here to read the amendment language, and click here to view PLW’s legislative memo.

From a pro-life perspective, the Wisconsin Constitution contains a glaring error at its outset. In specifying the beneficiaries of its human rights, our state constitution leaves out the preborn. It applies rights to only those people who are “born.”

Representative Jacque is proposing a minimal but absolutely essential correction, a personhood amendment, to make the Wisconsin Constitution cover all people, every person, at any stage of development. The amendment seeks to extend the inalienable right to life found in the Wisconsin Constitution to all preborn children from the beginning of their lives. 

Should Roe v. Wade be overturned someday and the abortion issue remanded to the states, an activist Wisconsin Supreme Court could use the word “born” in our current state constitution to deny the right to life of the preborn by interpreting an independent right to abortion in that document. In so doing, the court could nullify any present or future pro-life laws in our state. The changing makeup of the Wisconsin Legislature could also jeopardize any pro-life laws in our state. Every two years our state election process determines the majority party in Madison. Legal protection of the preborn should not (and must not) be contingent upon which party controls the state legislature. The right to life should not be subject to the whims of a politicized supreme court or an ever-changing legislature. 

The introduction of the Wisconsin Personhood Amendment is a watershed moment in the history of the pro-life movement in our state. It seeks to end abortion in Wisconsin, not to regulate or restrict it. We have been working toward the introduction of such an amendment for the last five years, and we thank Representative Jacque for demonstrating the courage of his convictions in finally making it a reality.

The personhood amendment will face stiff opposition from the pro-abortion industry.  Shockingly, the strongest opposition to the bill at this point is coming from Wisconsin Right to Life (WRL). In February WRL published a position paper vowing to oppose any effort to grant Wisconsin’s pre-born babies full constitutional rights as persons, labeling such efforts a “threat to [the] protection of Wisconsin unborn children.” They worked hard to ensure a personhood amendment was never introduced. Having failed in that effort, they are now calling every state legislator demanding that they not sign on to the bill. WRL admits that their legal reasoning for opposing a state personhood amendment is speculative. WRL offers no case law to back up their asserted problems, admitting that they are only “probable”. Pro-Life Wisconsin, on the other hand, offers recent Wisconsin case law clearly demonstrating that the proposed amendment is not a risk to our current, pre-Roe abortion law (Section 940.04, Wisconsin Statutes) by “implied repeal” or otherwise. Click here for PLW’s legal analysis rebutting their misguided objections.

The pro-life movement is founded on the bedrock principle that all human beings, at all stages of their development, deserve full protection under the law. Why oppose proactive people of good will endeavoring to provide full and lasting legal protection for preborn children? Pro-Life Wisconsin remains committed to constitutionally protecting Wisconsin’s preborn children, regardless of opposition from the abortion industry or from within the right to life movement. 

 how you can help at Pro-Life Wisconsin

WRTL urges Wis. Legislature not to support Personhood

From: Barbara Lyons [mailto:BLyons@wrtl.org]
Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 11:43 AM
To: 'Wisconsin Right To Life'
Subject: Memo

Dear Members of the Wisconsin Legislature,

Wisconsin Right to Life urges you not to co-sponsor LRB 2859/1 [Personhood Amendment - she decided not to use the word Personhood in the email...], a proposed amendment to the State Constitution being circulated by Rep. Andre Jacque. Despite Rep. Jacque’s sincere intentions, the language of the amendment does not rectify the inherent problems with such an approach in Wisconsin.

1. There is no way that Rep. Jacque can prevent a legal challenge to this amendment and it will be struck down under Roe v. Wade.

2. Implied repeal of s.940.04 is not the major problem created by the amendment. The amendment would be viewed as in conflict with s. 940.04 and the latter law passed, the amendment, will be the prevailing law negating the effect of s. 940.04. Prosecutors will be left with no means to bring charges against a person who performs an abortion because the amendment does not create a crime or apply penalties. A future legislature, if it is willing, would have to pass a new law prohibiting abortion, having negated the one we already have.

More extensive information can be found at http://www.wrtl.org/pa/index.html. Please do not hesitate to call if you have questions.

Barbara L. Lyons

Executive Director

Wisconsin Right to Life

www.wrtl.org/blog

Pro-lifers, read the arguments on both sides.  But what is telling is that WRTL does not offer any alternative, nothing, as to how we could grant the unborn legal protection under law.  I think the WRTL argument is weak, and saying that it would "cost too much" to enact?  If it worked, ....wouldn't the money be worth it? 

I've said it before, I'm on the outside looking in, but from where I sit, the "Right to Life" organizations in the US seem to be more worried about the fact Personhood could infringe on contraceptive methods which also cause abortions. 

The short explaination:

Our proposed personhood amendment is not intended, or worded, as a challenge to Roe, or as an attempt to define personhood under the 14th Amendment. It seeks only to bring into the Wisconsin constitution a true definition of human life as endorsed by Wisconsin citizens speaking through the amendment process. We recognize that its protections cannot be fully effective as long as Roe remains law, but we believe a proper definition of personhood should be in place should Wisconsin be freed from the effects of that noxious decision.

PLW does not believe, nor does it expect legislators to believe, that an amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution can remedy the federal tyranny of Roe v. Wade and its pernicious progeny. Still, Wisconsin can honestly state its intention to guard the humanity of all its citizens, including the pre-born, should that be made possible by the reversal of Roe. That is the purpose of our personhood amendment. The foregoing speculations are based on the inapplicable assumption that a personhood amendment challenges or conflicts with existing federal law based on Roe v. Wade. Again, PLW’s personhood amendment accepts Roe as a given, so its definition of personhood cannot be viewed as contravening Roe. No one could attack the amendment based on their rights under Roe.

 For more details check out this Pro-Life Wisconsin doc, or check out the new Personhood Wisconsin website.

Wisconsin Personhood campaign starts in Green Bay, amendment to be introduced this month

“We are excited to announce the launch of a multi-media effort, spreading the personhood message across Wisconsin,” said Virginia Zignego, Communications Director. “The personhood movement has tremendous grassroots support in Wisconsin and throughout the country, and we are excited to be able to spread that message even further.”

A billboard located on Highway 41, south of Green Bay, features people at different stages of development, along with the tagline, “You, Me, Everybody… We’re all just grown-up embryos.” The billboard directs viewers to PersonhoodWisconsin.com, a website launched to promote the personhood movement here in Wisconsin.

To view the billboard, click here. The billboard will move to a different Green Bay location every three months.

“With the recent news that abortions in Wisconsin declined in 2010, we hope this billboard will raise even greater awareness of the humanity of the preborn person and emphasize that, at one point, all of us were just embryos,” said Zignego.

Wisconsin State Representative Andre Jacque (R-Green Bay) plans to introduce an amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution that would apply personhood rights to preborn children at all stages of development. The amendment is currently in drafting and will be formally introduced in October, Respect Life Month.

“The proposed amendment extends the inalienable right to life found in the Wisconsin Constitution to all preborn children,” said Matt Sande, Director of Legislation. “It seeks to bring into the Wisconsin Constitution a true definition of human life, thus making the highest law in our state cover all people, every person, at any stage of development. We are excited to begin educating the public and the legislature on the necessity of legal personhood. Only by enshrining the right to life in our state constitution will preborn children be afforded full and lasting legal protection.”

The billboard is a collaborative effort between Pro-Life Wisconsin, 40 Days for Life of Green Bay, Personhood USA and Youth Defence, Ireland’s most active pro-life group.

 Pro-Life Wisconsin

Still unclear if Catholic institutions in this state will support the effort or oppose it.  We know Wisconsin Right to Life will actively oppose the measure.

Let's pray folks.  Game on.

We've hit the big time now...

The BC quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Wisconsin Right to Life sent an email to supporters Tuesday telling them a so-called personhood amendment to the state constitution is "wrong for Wisconsin."

An amendment to grant personhood to unborn children would be risky and would not provide "permanent protection" for unborn children, says the email, which links to a video that lists other reasons to oppose such an amendment.

The Badger Catholic Blogger says Wisconsin Right to Life sent a letter to state lawmakers last month saying Rep. Andre Jacque (R-Bellevue) is considering proposing such an amendment and that the organization would oppose it [and actively lobby against personhood... should be interesting, falling in step with Planned Parenthood and NARAL].

One sperm donor, 150 offspring

New York Times:

Cynthia Daily and her partner used a sperm donor to conceive a baby seven years ago, and they hoped that one day their son would get to know some of his half siblings — an extended family of sorts for modern times.

So Ms. Daily searched a Web-based registry for other children fathered by the same donor and helped to create an online group to track them. Over the years, she watched the number of children in her son’s group grow.

And grow.

Today there are 150 children, all conceived with sperm from one donor, in this group of half siblings, and more are on the way. “It’s wild when we see them all together — they all look alike,” said Ms. Daily, 48, a social worker in the Washington area who sometimes vacations with other families in her son’s group.

Read the rest here.

The article is a call for a legislated approach to sperm donors and is not a moral alarm (this is the NYT, after all.) Humanae Vitae warned of the degradation of society, and here is another manifestation of the race to the bottom.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states,

Techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife, by the intrusion of a person other than the couple (donation of sperm or ovum, surrogate uterus),are gravely immoral.These techniques (heterologous artificial insemination and fertilization) infringe the child's right to be born of a father and mother known to him and bound to each other by marriage. They betray the spouses' "right to become a father and a mother only through each other. (CCC 2376)

Wisconsin Personhood Amendment

Since someone asked me after my rant if I was for Personhood or not...  *sigh*  Can I claim working 12 hour days as an excuse?  I literally dream SQL statements at this point in time.  St. Joseph, ora pro nobis!  ......... and for good measure, St. Dymphna, ora pro nobis!

Ahem, The Badger Catholic hereby formally endorses a Wisconsin Personhood Amendment. 

Our Lady will give us victory.  Don't doubt this for one moment.  Pray.  Daily.  Victory.  This is her state. 


Our Lady of Good Help, ora pro nobis.

WRTL sends opposition to Personhood to all Wisconsin legislators

Last week Wisconsin Right to Life dropped off a letter at all the legislators’ offices in Madison about any potential Personhood amendment (which hasn’t even been introduced as of this point in time).  The first page is their letter and pages 2-3 is their analysis. This is a little surprising since there's no bill and no discussion at this time.  It would seem that WRTL feels they have a very weak argument legally and wouldn't be as persuasive once all their concerns are answered.  I've read both sides.  It is becoming apparent that any legislation that could infringe on any form of contraception(which can cause abortion) will be staunchly opposed by WRTL.  By the way, officially WRTL teaches that any connection between contraception and abortion is "speculation."

Wisconsin Right to Life views the idea that the pill causes abortions as "speculation," according to executive director Barbara Lyons.

There is a place for groups like WRTL, and I mean that.  Politics is a tricky game.  When Protestant groups first began supporting contraception in the 1930s(and a very limited support at that), it left a rift there for future generations of Christians who would never be taught what a natural marriage really is.  Certainly they should still be given a voice in the pro-life movement without having to contradict what their own denomination teaches on the matter.  I know, there are good people involved with Wisconsin Right to Life. But all of that said, there is nothing more scandalous than hearing that Catholic dioceses in this state take direction from and fund raise for Wisconsin Right to Life.  We have been given Humanae Vitae and Evangelium Vitae(The Gospel of Life).  We can't simply reject Church teaching because we might score some token political points.  Christ's Church has a plan not just for how we personally must act, but how laws and society should reflect that plan. 

Do you really believe abortion can totally and completely be defeated in our lifetime?  If not, you should find another movement.  If so, then how will you do it?  Compromising the Gospel of Life is admitting defeat.  Supporters of Wisconsin Right to Life, consider contacting the home office and ask them to reconsider their position on this important legislation, and ask what their alternative plan is for defeating abortion in Wisconsin. 



WRTL Opposes Person Hood

Stauch pro-life WI GOP Assembly freshman gets shaft in redistricting maps

As Republicans who run the Legislature rush to redraw maps of legislative districts, a GOP freshman in the Assembly is trying to tweak leaders' plans so he is not drawn into a colleague's district.

Rep. André Jacque (R-Bellevue) is asking Senate Republicans to change the maps so he is not pulled into the district of Rep. John Klenke (R-Green Bay), who like Jacque was elected to the Assembly for the first time in November. In an email to Senate Republicans sent Monday, Jacque called his proposal an improvement over the one drawn by legislative leaders.

Jacque's proposal would change the maps for him, Klenke and Rep. Garey Bies (R-Sister Bay). Details of his proposal have not yet been released, but it has little traction in the Senate.

"I ask for your consideration of this amendment in advance of caucus deliberations (Tuesday) and Wednesday, and greatly appreciate the expressions of support that I have received as discussions of this subject have progressed," Jacque said in his email.

Jacque, Klenke and Bies did not immediately return calls Tuesday morning.

Leaders are hoping to avoid changes to the proposed maps as they head into votes today in the Senate and Wednesday in the Assembly. If they allow changes to some of the district maps, other rank-and-file members would likely seek changes. Eleven pairs of lawmakers have been drawn into the same districts.

"I think everybody would find something with their district they would like to change," said Sen. Rich Zipperer (R-Pewaukee). Zipperer is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which approved the maps last week and forwarded them to the Senate.

"I'm not supporting making that change," Zipperer said. "The map isn't drawn for one individual person or one individual representative."

 MJS

Interesting that a 100% pro-life freshman legislator - already responsible for the resolution commending pregnancy help centers and a proposed legislation banning UW from doing fetal body parts research - would be redistricted....  Oh, and he is rumored to also be considering introducing Personhood in Wisconsin...   hmmmmm