Working to See the 14th Amendment Protection of the Preborn Is Finally Recognized

When Justice Justice Harry Blackmun wrote in the majority opinion for Roe v. Wade he said: "The appellee and certain amici [pro-lifers] argue that the fetus is a 'person' within the language and meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. In support of this, they outline at length and in detail the well-known facts of fetal development. If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the [14th] Amendment."

Abortion supporters know that if every unborn baby is finally recognized as the person he or she really is, each baby will be legally guaranteed the same right to life as all Americans. & they are scared. They know their whole murder industry will collapse as a result.

They are doing all they can to derail that movement as a result.

1 of their attempts is going on right now in Nevada. A personhood amendment was filed there on 21 October 2009. To try & stop it ocal Chapters of Planned Parenthood (PP) & the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have filed a lawsuit against the sponsors of the ballot initiative. The challenge was filed in Carson City District Court on behalf of feminist blogger Emmily Bristol, physician Dr. William Ramos, & pharmacist Mindy Hsu. The lawsuit claims the initiative violates state law by not explicitly stating the possible effects of the amendment on the legal status of abortion, emergency contraception, & fertility treatment.

In response Richard Ziser, the initiative's sponsor, told the Reno Gazette-Journal: "It's pretty clear that it's meant to protect the life of the unborn. The fact they don't like what it says doesn't mean it's not understandable."

So what does it say? The 1-sentence amendment states: “In the great state of Nevada, the term ‘person’ applies to every human being.”

Blogger Emmily Bristol who is participating in the lawsuit apparently admitted on her blog that the measure is easy to understand. “It is designed to leave voters scratching their heads and saying, ‘Well, duh, a person is a person.’“

Keith Mason of Personhood USA said: “Exactly. It’s simple, easy to understand, and if even the folks behind the lawsuit can see that it’s that simple, the voters shouldn’t have any trouble. Every human being is a person. Period.”

He went on to say: “Children in the womb today have fewer rights than dogs or cats. Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and Emmily Bristol are seeking to keep it that way.”

PP & the ACLU aren't concerned about people not understanding the amendment, they are afraid that people will understand & thus support it. The result would lead to exactly what Blackmun said in his opinion. So the ACLU is doing its best to undermine the unborn's civil liberties instead of protecting them as they should.

The thrust to get an amendment like this is currently underway in 32 states. Right now my state of Iowa is not 1 of them. But given the current control of the Iowa Legislature of the pro-abort Democrats, with Catholic in Name Only Pat Murphy as Speaker of the House, it is unlikely anything could happen until 2011 at the earliest.*

Meanwhile, while I applaud this effort & support it, what also need to be done is get an Amendment to the US Constitution passed so that the Courts can't rule the unborn aren't persons despite amendments like these. Remember that before the 14th Amendment changed things, under the Dred Scott ruling, the Supreme Court defined slaves as property, not human beings.

The Supreme Court could make another wrong decision & overrule a state amendment despite Blackmun. Or it could say it applied only in the state that approved it. So, while it is s atep in the right direction, a 14th Amendment equivalent is probably the ultimate end of this whole effort.

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*In Iowa an amendment to the state constitution has to by approved by simple majorities in both the House and Senate in two consecutive Iowa General Assemblies. That means that if it is approved in the 2011-12 session, then again in the 2013-14 session. It then must be approved by a simple majority of voters in the next general election which would be 2014.

Sources: 'Personhood' movement explodes in 32 states
Planned Parenthood and ACLU Sue to Block Nevada Personhood Initiative