Haley Barbour "concerned" about Mississippi anti-abortion amendment

CBS

Mississippi is an "enormously pro-life state," Gov. Haley Barbour said Wednesday, but he and other opponents to abortion rights in the state are nevertheless concerned about an anti-abortion amendment on the ballot there.

Next week, on November 8, Mississippi voters will vote on Initiative 26, otherwise known as the "personhood initiative," which would amend the state constitution to declare a fertilized human egg a "person." The one-paragraph initiative asks voters: "Should the term 'person' be defined to include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the equivalent thereof?"

"I'm somebody that believes life begins at conception, that's one of the reasons I'm pro-life," Barbour said Wednesday on Fox News. "But a lot of pro-life people have problems with this particular language... There's concern this is ambiguous, even in an enormously pro-life state like mine, there is some concern about this."

Later on MSNBC, Barbour added, "I am concerned about some of the ramifications on in vitro fertilization, ectopic pregnancies where pregnancies [occur] outside the uterus and in the fallopian tubes. That concerns me, I have to just say it."

While the Colorado-based group behind the initiative, Personhood USA, is focused on abortion, several experts have spoken out about the amendment's potential unintended consequences. The initiative has no exceptions for pregnancies that result from rape or incest, or for life-threatening conditions such as ectopic pregnancies, as Barbour mentioned.

The Mississippi section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said in a statement to its members, "This amendment is not just a Pro-Choice or Pro-Life amendment. It has numerous unintended consequences that will affect the care of our patients."

In a recent panel on the initiative, Stephen Crampton of Liberty Counsel, a Florida-based nonprofit that opposes abortion, defended the initiative.

"There is a moment when the chromosomes from a woman and the chromosomes from a man unite and form a unique, new individual," Crampton said. "The question, then, is simple: Is it fully human -- is he or she fully human? And is he or she alive? The answer to both of those questions is emphatically yes. As a society, it becomes incumbent upon us to take steps to recognize that fact and then to implement laws to protect it."

In Washington, Republican leaders of the House have put anti-abortion initiatives at the top of the agenda, but the recent push to pass anti-abortion rules at the state level has been arguably more significant. Anti-abortion advocates are hoping to prompt the Supreme Court to review Roe v. Wade by passing laws in the states that test the limits of the landmark case.

Barbour suggested today the "personhood" initiative may not be the best way to do that.

"Strategically, there's some national organizations that think this may mess up trying to get more pro-life policies adopted nationally," Barbour said on MSNBC. "The proponents seem to think this is a way to the Supreme Court. The opponents who are pro-life think this isn't a good way to go to the Supreme Court -- it may not help, it may hurt."

[meanliberal]

Mississippi already has the worse child welfare statistics in the country. What are they going to do with all the extra unwanted babies this law will produce--sell them at church fairs?

[tvwatcher5345]

i know a "born again" whose wife was pregnant, but the baby was forming outside the womb and would have been born with severe birth defects, he says she went to the doctor's and had a miscarriage, i really want to ask him what emergency room she went to, but i defend his and his family's right to make their own decisions and stop the nazis who want to take Americans rights away

[imnho]

Things will get real nasty when they try to outlaw birth control Women should be able to make the choice as to having a baby or not

[DebbieCorona]

I do not want government in my religion and I don't want religion in my government. Render unto Ceaser what is Ceasers and render unto me what is mine. God is the judge and Mississippi playing this game is placing themselves above God.

[tsigili]

This attempt to use government, to legislate religious issues, which is what this is actually about, is totally unacceptable, and one of the most authentic criticisms, of the Republican Party.

[Tupelomom]

It amazes me that pro-abortion/liberals feel the need to call pro-life supporters names like "bible thumping morons" and "pro-life freaks." Unborn children are "parasites"? Really??? The reason this legislation is a bit "scary" is it's simplicity and it's assumption that people have common sense about it's purpose - to outlaw the killing of children. It doesn't go into any detail about birth control, miscarriages etc. The reason it might should have,is because liberal lawyers will file the ridiculous law suits.

[kansas1946]

Well, it amazes me that you are amazed. You first sentence called people who disagree with you on this issue, "pro-abortion," when in fact, no one is pro-abortion. Pro-choice people, and I stress, "coice", have been called baby-killers and other names that I can't print here. Everyone should be working together to reduce the need for abortion. The so called pro-lifers have fought against everything that would do that. The government has no place in this fight. No one is forcing anyone to have an abortion. This is a woman's choice. If someone believes it is a sin, then God will handle it. I think a lot of things are immoral, but I don't petition the goverment to put people in jail for doing them.

[Tupelomom]

Abortion up to 24 weeks is legal in most states. Google what a child looks like at this stage of pregnancy.Google what a child - at any stage looks like after an abortion. This is a horrific practice -don't fool yourself. I am a woman and do not feel I have the right to kill. The government does and should prosecute for murder. Pro-choice = I don't care If you kill your child

[Lifeisbeautiful88]

It is simply bringing the constitution in line with what science already recognizes: "By all the criteria of modern molecular biology, life is present from the moment of conception." Dr. Hymie Gordon, Chairman, Department of Genetics at the Mayo Clinic

"The only times we even question whether human beings are persons (or "truly" human) are during exploitation and injustice. During the Holocaust, in support of slavery, and to spread eugenics, for example, we have questioned whether the people exploited or abused are really, truly human. To me, that's powerful."http://liveaction.org/blog/is-it-a-person/

AIN'T I A WOMAN? This is what Sojourner Truth asked when she gave her famous speech about the rights of black women.

WELL, AIN'T I A PERSON?

Ryan Bomberger answers this question in this beautiful music video written by a man who was conceived by an act of rape:
http://www.theradiancefoundation.org/portfolio-item/unwanted-a-story-about-choice/

How fortunate his mother recognized his "personhood"!

[random_radar]

The best way to destroy a cause is to be extreme. Marginalizing yourself by taking an extreme position will hurt more than any enemy could harm you.

[OldProfessor]

Stephen Crampton comments reveal his ignorance of biology and theology. The issue facing those trying to impose personhood on a one-cell entity at fertilization is the entity is a parasite until it develops to a point it can live and breathe outside a woman's body. No one has yet identified when the fetus develops/recieves its soul.

[brian_norwood]

Can a pregnant woman claim her unborn "person" as a dependant on her income tax return?

Will she have to by a seat for her unborn "person" when travelling by air?

Can she, her husband and her unborn "person" ride in the HOV3 lane while she's pregnant?

Can her "unborn" person sit at the bar with her, even though it's under 21?

If she gets drunk, could her unborn "person" be charged with underage drinking?

If an illegal alien becomes pregnant while in the United States, would her unborn "person" be considered a U.S. citizen?

What age does a woman put on the census form for her unborn "person"?

[dannysteele]

Excellent points that I've brought up before.

And don't forget about including these "people" in the census. Obviously, they also will need to get Social Security Numbers before making their grand entrance as well.

This is going to be great as well for areas with large numbers of frozen embryos. I can already see them being trucked around at census time to influence congressional redistricting.