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.continue at LifeSiteNews
“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.
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.