This is perhaps one of the most controversial topics in America today... Pro-Life or Pro-Choice? Is it ethical to abort a baby, no matter the situation? Or should victims of rape or incest have that right? Should it be legal or illegal? Everyone has a different opinion in this matter, and I will not try to force my opinions on anyone. But a recent amendment in Mississippi may change whether or not a woman has a choice in the matter.
The controversial measure, known as "Personhood," will ask Mississippians to amend the state constitution to define life as beginning at conception, which would eliminate abortion, including in the cases of women who are the victims of rape and incest. The law would also outlaw certain forms of birth control and the destruction of embryos in laboratories -- which puts in vitro fertilization procedures in question because it results in unused fertilized eggs. Representatives in the Yes on 26 movement say that anyone who considers themselves to be pro-life should be supporting the amendment.
It's that lack of specifics that has many people upset. Many worry about voting for an amendment without knowing the exact medical, moral, legal and criminal implications.
Diane Derzis, who runs Mississippi's only abortion clinic, said most people don't understand how far-reaching the amendment could be.
"By this very definition of this bill, a fertilized egg is a person, so that does away with the IUD and most forms of birth control," she said. "For a woman who has a miscarriage -- is she going to be investigated? I mean, this may sound like the Twilight Zone, but this is where we are with this stuff."
Personhood USA, a Colorado-based group, describes itself as a nonprofit Christian ministry that "serves the pro-life community by assisting local groups to initiate citizen, legislative, and political action focusing on the ultimate goal of the pro-life movement: personhood rights for all innocent humans."
The idea for personhood was born during Roe v. Wade's oral arguments, when Justice Potter Stewart said, "If it were established that an unborn fetus is a person, you would have an impossible case here." Now, Personhood USA is trying to use the amendment to establish "personhood" as a direct challenge to the Roe v. Wade ruling.
What about the woman who was raped and can't emotionally handle carrying and birthing the child? Or the victims of incest? Should they be denied their right to chose? I've always considered myself on the fence about abortion... I don't believe in it except in the cases of rape or incest victims. And, of course, in the situations where carrying the child would kill either the child or the mother or both.
Could I vote for this amendment? Would I? I really don't know. For me, there's too much of a grey area. Too much question of what wold be okay and what wouldn't. I'd like to get the opinion of others, though, so my question is this... Pro-Life or Pro-Choice? And why?
Scooter Out
