Yesterday was Election Day in Mississippi. On the ballot, was this little thing called the Personhood Ammendment. Basically, it was an ammendment aimed at getting around Roe vs. Wade. But, in doing so, it determined that life began at fertilization.
Fertilization. Sperm meets egg. Here's the deal: half - half! - of fertilized eggs never implant in a woman's uterus. Sometimes the fertilized egg is flushed out in a heavier-than-normal period. Most of the time women never even knew they were carrying a potential pregnancy.
And the state of Mississippi wanted to define the fertilized egg as a person with the same rights as me and you. The language in the bill was amiguous to the point that it could have outlawed hormonal birth control, IUD's, IVF, and even the right for a pregnant cancer pateint to receive treatment. It would have made it so that a woman with an ectopic pregnancy would have had to remove the entire tube (rendering her infertile) in order to terminate the pregnancy. It would've outlawed certain ablations that are necessary for female health. All I can really say about that is this: !!!!!!!!!!
In the interest of full dislosure, I will tell you that I consider myself to be pro-choice. This does not mean I'm pro-abortion. I don't believe in abortion as means of birth control. And people on all sides of the debate confuse me. I've seen a 7-week fetus on an ultrasound screen with a beating heart. You cannot tell me that's simply a mass of cells. At the same time, I don't believe a woman who is raped should be forced to face the psychological ramifications of carrying her rapists baby and then either raising a child who is half the man who attacked her or giving away a child who is half her. I also don't understand why so many ardent pro-lifers only seem to care about a pregnancy before it is actually born and takes it's first breath. Have you noticed that? It seems as though so many people who identify with pro-life also don't believe in social services . . . in free or subsidized healthcare of even programs like WIC. It's such a contradiction to me.
Since I live in Memphis, I'm right on the Mississippi state line. Which means we heard a lot - a lot - about the Personhood Ammendment. It also means my local news station's Facebook page became a breeding ground for every halfway literate idiot in the tri-state area.
I don't understand WHY people couldn't understand this ammendment was a horrible thing.
I get that the Yes on 26 people marketed it as an anti-abortion bill to a very conservative state. But all it took was a little bit of research to understand that the bill was so much more than that -- that it took away so many rights! I wonder, if the state of Mississippi decided to take it one step further and outlaw male masturbation (after all, all those little spermies are potential babies, no?) . . . people would have been outraged, right? But since it was made to be about women and the a-word was thrown into the debate over and over and over again, it was okay to remove certain rights. It was okay to remove the right to seek hormonal birth control. It was okay to remove the right of a cancer patient to seek treatment because the life of the fetus she was carrying was more important than HER life. It was okay to remove all those rights. In the name of attempting to get around Roe v. Wade.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?
The Personhood Ammendment was, thankfully, shot down by Mississippi voters. But something like 30% of people STILL voted for it.
The News Facebook page blew up last night. Here are just a few gems:
this a sad day in ms. God will take care of all those that voted no everyone as a choice but god gave his only son for us and we cant as astate give him this..sad very sad
All the people that voted no. When God ask you what you voted on 26 what will you tell him
Everyone will stand on their judgement day. Murder is murder and it's wrong in gods eyes so it Shuld be wrong in ours
The woman who got pregnant had the chance to keep her pants up maybe he should think about that next time u wanna go out and do it with your boyfriend who u know that won't stay if u get pregnant!!!! and I'm from Mississippi I vote yes!!!!
Do you think god approves of abortion?
Everything happens for a reason I may only be a teenager but I have done my research. Abortion is MURDER, MURDER IS A CRIME!
What did the baby do to you?
There is other options! Adoption is one of the safe ones!
So you need to think would God approve of this!
(These are just a very, very few. I could make four whole posts of all the "WTF" statements).
And here was me, in bed last night, reading these comments from my phone: "IT WAS NOT ABOUT ABORTION, YOU DUMBASS!"
It's so scary to think that because abortion is such a hot topic, something that people are so passionate about it, that there are people who will completely skirt the other issues. People were willing to take away so many other rights just to get around the Roe V. Wade decision! That is scary, ya'll!
