Blog
Personhood USA, The First Year In Review.
(Download a print copy of this year in review. 9MB)
A Note From Keith Mason…
“What can we do to help?!?”
This is the first question that many pro-life groups, individuals, and legislators have heard when they have contacted us with a desire to affirm the personhood rights of the pre- born. I know this attitude of service has been a blessing to many, and to all of us at Personhood USA as well.
In one short year so much has happened, far more than I had even imagined could happen to further the effort to affirm the God-given right to life for all humans. God has touched the hearts of so many that this has all the makings of a movement. Our desire is to labor tirelessly to serve all we can who answer God’s call to protect His little ones.
As the Lord provides, we hope to continue to serve and fight for the personhood rights of ALL humans – old or young, big or small. My prayer is that we will see these efforts that have been started this year grow, and that God would raise up more like you and I to love our little neighbors and protect them.
As we have just begun to utilize the infinite educational opportunities that we have with these Personhood Campaigns, I look forward to partnering with you and ending this culture of death in America.
In His Service,
Keith Mason
Co Founder Personhood USA
A Note From Cal Zastrow…
GLORY TO GOD!!!
From Bismarck to Baltimore, from California to Florida, my whole family and I have been petitioning and promoting personhood to thousands of people.
Most of this year, we have been petitioning in Mississippi, one of the most pro-life states.
Pro-lifers are demanding personhood, NOW! The vision (and actions) to protect all babies is spreading like wildfire.
I am shouting REVIVAL all the way!!!
Cal Zastrow
Gallup Polls Prove that Personhood is working to change America
Personhood is changing the way Americans view abortion.
In the past year, Time, Newsweek, US News and World Report, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Associated Press, The Denver Post, the Boston Globe and countless television networks have all discussed the idea that humans should have equal rights from the beginning of their biological development.
What’s more, they have been forced to discuss it not just as a hypothetical, but as a real possibility, because people around the country are actually – for the first time in decades – boldly fighting for what they believe in: equal rights for all innocent human beings regardless of their stage of development.
If one were to mount an advertising campaign to put this message across in these publications, the cost would be astronomical.
Yet a small grass roots movement with almost no political, government, or corporate support has been able to effectively educate tens of millions of Americans and put pro-lifers back in the driver’s seat.
The effect of the grass roots personhood movement is tangible.
In a recent well- publicized Gallup poll, Americans considered themselves for the first time, more pro-life than pro-choice. What changed from 2007 to 2009?
The yearly murder of over a million innocent children in the womb went unmentioned at any of the presidential debates or political events. So why did people change their mind so dramatically in only one year?
The answer is clearly discernible from the actual figures of the Gallup poll: while the number of Americans who believe that abortion should be allowed in some situations actually climbed one percent, from 52% to 53%, the number of Americans who believe that abortions should never be allowed climbed dramatically from 17% to 23%; at the same time the percentage of Americans who believe that abortions should always be allowed declined from 28% to 22%.
These statistics corroborate what everyone already knows: when a movement is true to it’s founding principles, it is able to communicate those principles and change people’s hearts and minds. When the movement compromises its principles, it fails.
By Gualberto Garcia Jones J.D.
Personhood USA is leading the charge of the Personhood Movement, Please help us push forward with you donation today !
PERSONHOOD EFFORTS
2009 REVIEW
As our first year as an organization draws to a close, it is time to examine the goals we set on November 5, 2008. Did we accomplish our goals? Have we stayed on course? While there is still much to be done, reviewing our past year’s activity has made me confident in all that God has accomplished through PersonhoodUSA. In one year, PersonhoodUSA has built an unrivaled nationwide grassroots coalition. In one year, PersonhoodUSA has helped to launch Personhood movements in 32 states. Let’s take a closer look, state by state, at some of what has happened in 2009.
North Dakota
- For the first time in U.S. History, a personhood bill passed a legislative body. Legislative Assembly House Bill No. 1572, introduced by Representative Dan Ruby, passed the House and was only 8 votes short in the Senate
- So many volunteers contacted their State Representatives and Senators that the legislative switchboard was shut down with thousands of phone calls from Personhood supporters.
- New life was breathed into the pro-life movement in North Dakota. Personhood USA helped to gather names and organize volunteers to the tune of 5000 willing pro-lifers.
They are ready for round two in the beginning of 2010!
To: Personhood USA
_I want to thank you for your help in passing North Dakota House Bill 1572, The Personhood Bill, in the House of Representatives.
This bill in our estimation was the most comprehensive pro-life bill ever to pass a House of Representatives in the nation. It was a states rights bill in that it interpreted the ND Constitution to include the unborn as protected persons – no exceptions. And it applied this interpretation to all of the laws of the state of ND.
We didn’t quite make it in the Senate but we made a very strong positive impression on the Senators. They are now taking North Dakota Life League serious. Personhood USA’s help really made a huge impact in the state and gave NDLL a renewed credibility that has carried over into the interim and we are expecting great things during the next session. The pro-lifers all across the state were invigorated with hope and we look forward to working with Personhood USA during the interim and through the next session in January 2011.
Thank you again for your help and assistance!_
Tim Lindgren State Director North Dakota Life League
Personhood Montana
- We began in Montana with a 2008 petition drive. With a limited time frame, we began the process and built the momentum for 2009.
- SB406, introduced by State Senator Daniel W. McGee, passed the senate and got a majority vote in the house. Although we needed a super majority and didn’t pass, we created enough momentum to relaunch in July. Montana is going strong 2010!
- Signatures are being gathered once again for 2010. Montanans have adopted the attitude that they will not rest until every child is protected by love and by law.
Dear Keith and Cal:
As representatives and cofounders of Personhood USA, you have been a dramatic help to our state personhood initiative. For one thing, our former House Representative Rick Jore, who brought personhood to Montana, got his inspiration from your organization.
Your assistance with ideas about contacting churches, setting up news conferences and press releases, providing us with written and video resources, encouragement and prayers—these things have proved to be of immeasurable value.
Though every state has different laws, circumstances, and cultural milieu, the process of legally affirming personhood remains very similar. Because of you, we don’t have to invent the wheel. Your combination of uncompromised standards, enthusiasm, dogged determination, and faith is moving mountains.
Thank-you from the bottom of my heart!
Blessings!
Annie Bukacek MD President, Montana Prolife Coalition
Oregon
- Signatures have been gathered for a Personhood Amendment, Catholic Bishop Vasa came out in public support for the effort.
Personhood Mississippi
- In 2009, we began collecting signatures for the 2011 ballot. Momentum is building in this pro-life state as we have over half of the signatures already collected.
Personhood Colorado
- In 2009, we began collecting signatures for the 2010 ballot. 618,000 folks voted to affirm personhood in 2008, our goal is to increase that number.
Personhood Florida
- In the past year, Florida’s Personhood movement has grown by leaps and bounds. An infrastructure for an effective grassroots Personhood campaign has been built, and volunteers began gathering signatures.
- An incredible coalition has been built in just a few short months. They even have over 16,000 followers on Twitter .
PersonhoodFL would not exist without PersonhoodUSA. Keith Mason, Gaube Jones and Cal Zastrow have worked tirelessly to encourage, train and equip us. It has been such a blessing, after 25 years of activity, to finally feel like we are making forward progress. Pro-life veterans are coming out of the woodwork to take their leadership positions to establish personhood for the pre-born, the elderly and the disabled.
I believe the very future of this nation depends on how effectively we are able to reach the hearts and minds of the people of this nation with the Personhood message. It is worth our focus and all our resources to rescue those unjustly sentenced to death or very soon we will find ourselves unjustly sentenced to death. This movement must continue to grow. I have never had more faith and courage.
Mrs. Brenda MacMenamin
PersonhoodFL.com
Nevada
- In 2009, a committee was formed and Personhood language was submitted to the Secretary of State in October.
California
- On September 28th, 2009, language was submitted to the Secretary of State’s office.
- Sponsors Walter Hoye , Lila Rose, Leo Severino and Jason Jones are gearing up for an intense fight, but one that will educate millions!
New Mexico
- In July, PersonhoodUSA directors met with legislators, who are now working on a bill for 2010.
Alabama
- In 2009, legislators began working on a Personhood Bill for 2010, SB-335 by Sen. Hank Erwin.
Georgia
- In 2009, Georgia Right to Life worked extremely hard, headed up all efforts,
Maryland
- Delegate Don Dwyer introduced the Maryland Personhood Amendment HB925, and had more co-sponsors than any other state this year.
- A grassroots team was built that is meeting regularly.
South Carolina
- In 2009 H.3526 was introduced by Rep. Liston Barfield. And S.450 was introduced by Sen. Lee Bright
Michigan
- In October of 2009, five Democrats in the State House of Representatives introduced the Michigan Personhood Amendment. Eighteen Republicans are co-sponsoring as well. The commitment of these State Legislators to protect all children instead of just some is superior.
Personhood USA is leading the charge of the Personhood Movement, Please help us push forward with you donation today !
Hawaii
- Legislators have contacted Personhood USA for help.
- Plans have been made to introduce this Personhood Bill in January 2010.
Missouri
- In 2009, Personhood Language was submitted, and a petition drive began in October.
Alaska
- PersonhoodUSA worked with Alaska Right to Life and began petition in November 2009.
In 2009, committees were also formed in: Louisiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Kansas, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, Idaho, Arkansas, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Tennessee to start Personhood efforts in their State, praise God!!!!
WHAT IS NEXT?
In 2010, we believe pro-life people like you and I will have one of the best opportunities to educate and win public opinion to the pro-life side.
Think about one volunteer in one campaign: because there is a personhood effort in their State, they become active. Most volunteers who gather signatures get into conversations and confront hundreds with the undeniable fact that the preborn humans are people with rights.
Think of the impact of just one volunteer on the community around them. We have seen this impact and it is tremendous!
Thousands of pro-life ambassadors will take to the streets in 2010 to advocate for life – reaching millions! And if these Personhood efforts were not taking place, it is likely that many of these volunteers would sadly stay home or get busy with life and not talk much about the issue.
Now that many of these efforts have begun, we must capitalize on the opportunity to educate.
We hope that these combined efforts will raise 30 Million dollars or more to greatly impact the nation towards the culture of life!
With all of these efforts, our goal is to spend as little as possible on the political side and as much as possible on educating people locally.
This helps to build grassroots coalitions in different states which will be utilized until we end the dehumanization of preborn babies in America!
We pray that we can partner with you to make a change in America towards a culture of life.
The Personhood USA Team
Georgia To Vote On Personhood Today
Article Link: http://www2.wrbl.com/news/2010/jul/19/ga-right-life-ask-about-personhood…
GA Right to Life ask about a “Personhood Amendment” on ballot
By Sarah Panko
Published: July 19, 2010
Muscogee County voters who ask for a republican ballot tomorrow will see something a little different.
You will find a question on the ballot that reads;
“Do you support an amendment to the Georgia State Constitution so as to provide that the paramount right to life is vested in each human being from the earliest biological beginning until natural death?” The question is being posed by the non-profit group, Georgia Right to Life.The organization asked the Muscogee County Republican Party to put the question on the Republican ballot, and they agreed.
According to its website the group says it promotes values and protects human life. The question asks when someone’s life begins and if you would support an amendment that would allow the legislature to pass laws that would protect life from the “earliest biological beginning until natural death”According to Elections Director Nancy Boren, the question is not a binding referendum and,
Therefore, carries no weight. The question will appear on 47 ballots. One is a democratic ballot.
Personhood In Montana Delayed, Not Defeated.
Precious Prolife Team:
My husband and I contacted 3/4 of the county offices this morning to find out the totals they sent to the Secretary of State’s office for CI 102 Personhood Amendment. From what we have so far, there are close to 37,000 signatures with 34 house districts qualified. The estimates for signatures by the regional leaders fell short of anticipated numbers in three large counties
Even with the 24 HDs remaining to check, it doesn’t look like we’ll make the cut. Plus, the Secretary of State’s office is making an official statement that we didn’t make it. Investigation of rejected signatures will take time, and there is uncertainty of the outcome of that. And, some of those qualified by the county offices might be rejected at the Secretary of State level. For these reasons, I have altered the press release from what I sent you over the weekend.
Flathead, Lake, Lincoln, Mineral, Pondera, Ravalli, and Sanders Counties qualified ALL their house districts! Many house districts missed qualifying by 20 or less signatures. We’ll send you a tally of the house districts when we have all the numbers.
Press Release sent around noon today:
Montana Prolife Coalition Won’t Back Down or Give Up
Dr. Annie Bukacek, sponsor of the Personhood Amendment CI 102, got word from the Secretary of State’s Office today that CI 102 didn’t get enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Undaunted, she has started the process of filing for a 2012 election cycle personhood initiative, “recognizing the importance of momentum and focus,” she says, while acknowledging no actual signatures can be collected until June 2011. It is anticipated the language will be the same as CI 102, referring to the due process clause of the Montana Constitution when stating that personhood begins at the biological beginning of human life (what most people refer to as conception).
She states, “When we launched CI 102, Montana Prolife Coalition was less than six months in existence and didn’t have the infrastructure of volunteers necessary to get the needed signatures. We are greatly encouraged by the steady growth of enthusiastic activists joining Montana Prolife Coalition—going from hundreds to thousands, and we anticipate tens of thousands a year from now. All unpaid volunteers, this grassroots prolife network will work to influence the November elections and bills during the 2011 legislative session. The killing of innocent humans is not compatible with a civilized society. We have barely begun the fight for the rights and liberties of unborn babies, and we will keep working at it until their personhood is established in our Montana Constitution.”
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
We have much to be pleased about and plan to get it next time.
Annie Bukacek MDPresident, Montana ProLife Coalition P.O. Box 2758 Bigfork, Montana 59911 (406) 270-0606
Hope and Change.....
Dear friend of human dignity,
In an ethically corrupt vote on March 21, Congress passed the dreaded ObamaCare legislation. This disastrous new mandate will not only turn your healthcare decisions over to government bureaucrats, it will force you to pay for the killing of innocent, unborn children!
All seemed hopeless in the aftermath of the vote.
But just five days later, the Colorado Secretary of State certified Personhood Colorado’s “personhood amendment” for the November ballot, giving us the opportunity to fight back on behalf of life, and against ObamaCare.
And that, my friend, is exactly what we’re doing. Please keep reading for all the details . . .
This is our time. Pro-lifers all across the nation must come together to support and pass Amendment 62 — the Personhood Amendment.
You see, if we affirm the God-given dignity of the unborn, they can no longer be treated as property. And this is what ObamaCare does: it treats the preborn, the elderly, the disabled, and anyone who does not measure up to their arbitrary standards as less than a person . . . as human property of the state!
But Personhood USA can land a fatal blow to Obamacare this November — but only if you join us in the fight right now!
Will you join Personhood USA in this critical battle, with both your prayers and your financial support?
(Click Here To Contribute: https://www.personhoodusa.com/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=4 )
If so, you’ll be working alongside some of the most incredible, life-affirming people ever. When the chips were down, and it looked as if we might come up short in our drive to get Amendment 62 on the ballot, Personhood USA and the pro-life warriors of Colorado came through, producing some 47,000 signatures in just two weeks, and pushing us over the top!
And now we have less than four months to get the word out about Amendment 62 — the Personhood Amendment.
It’s up to you to level the playing field with your faithful financial support.
Now, here’s some of our strategy as we head toward this critical vote . . .
As the old saying goes, “All politics is local.” And that couldn’t be more true than in this coming election!
Time is already short . . . I desperately need your help supporting this vitally important ballot measure.
Click Here To Contribute: https://www.personhoodusa.com/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=4
With your sacrificial gift today, you can accomplish so much in the cause of life. Not only is Personhood USA reaching out to the people of Colorado with the truth about life, we’re also building a revolutionary internet tool at MyCampaignTracker.org. With this site, we can focus the energy of pro-lifers across the state, and let them watch their efforts grow!
But the MyCampaignTracker.org project isn’t complete and the programmers hired to get the job done in time haven’t been paid in weeks. I need you to help us finish building the MyCampaignTracker.org.
We only need $13,000 more to complete this vital project. And I’m counting on you to be the one who makes the final push!
The MyCampaignTracker.org project is local campaign empowerment, not only in Colorado but to all of the Personhood Campaigns across the Country.
And I need you to send a sacrificial gift that will enable us to pursue our various strategies to save babies, including getting MyCampaignTracker.org up and running.
(Click Here To Contribute: https://www.personhoodusa.com/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=4 )
You see, we need to educate the people of Colorado, and get at least 800,000 citizens to vote yes on Amendment 62 this November.
If you believe in what Personhood USA is doing, if you think Personhood for the unborn is a righteous and worthy effort, if you want to stop the killing of babies with your tax dollars, then I need you to make a sacrificial gift today.
We are headed into the heat of battle here in Colorado, and we need your help to secure victory.
Your gift of $50, $125, $250, or even $500 will go a long way toward getting My MyCampaignTracker.org up and running as well as reaching millions of your fellow Coloradans with the message of Personhood. Perhaps you can give more, say, $1000 or even $10,000. Whatever you can give, rest assured, it will be used to end the slaughter of the preborn!
(Click Here To Contribute: https://www.personhoodusa.com/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=4 )
For far too long, the pro-life movement has been on the defensive, running from one crisis to another, just trying to hold our ground.
But no more. Now we go on the offensive and take the battle to the enemy. We’ve declared war on those who shake their fists at God and shed innocent blood, so now let’s finish the fight together.
From now through November, I need you at my side as we battle the enemies of life. This is your chance to help, to join the fray at the most critical time.
I am pleading with you today, with humbleness and urgency, to pray for the cause of the unborn, pray for the leadership here at Personhood USA, pray for pro-lifers who are committing to our cause every day, pray for the politicians who are beginning to see the momentum of the Personhood strategy, and please pray for me and my family as we give this fight our all.
May God bless you abundantly for what you’ve done and given to the cause of justice for the unborn. Your faithfulness will be rewarded as you give all you can to work His will in this lost and dying word.
Humble in His service,
Keith Mason
Co-Founder Personhood USA
Manager, Amendment 62 Campaign
P.S. The stakes have never been higher for the innocent unborn. Let’s do all we can to stop the moral descent in America that has led to so many, many deaths. Please send your best possible gift today to Personhood USA. To mail a contribution please send it to:
Personhood USA
PO Box 486
Arvada, Co 80001
(Click Here To Contribute: https://www.personhoodusa.com/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=4 )
All Good Things Must Come To An End: An Update from the PersonhoodNow! Team
After a successful summer, the PersonhoodNow! project has finally come to a close. In this final blog update, the team would like to catch you up on what's gone on since our last blog update and fill you in on what we're looking toward in the future.
Our last weeks of the project we're spent traveling throughout the state (literally, we reached every part of the state) working with local contacts.
After leaving Sarasota and Ft. Myers, we hit the road to Naples. We started off the trip by petitioning at Sonrise Christian Church which is pastored by our good friend, Mr. Tom Harris. The church family is actively involved in engaging culture. They wholeheartedly signed the petition and took thousands more for others to sign. We scooted out the door in order to visit a Grace Bible Church potluck where we spoke with the pastor of several satellite churches about getting his congregation involved.
Our hospitable hosts in Naples were the Scofield family who entertained us with exciting games of Balderdash and filled us up with lots of healthy food! We spent a day dropping off information packets to local churches and taught a training workshop for a large group of volunteers. Members and leaders of a local chapter of the Institute for Cultural Communicators attended our training event. They took thousands of petitions and decided to take on petition circulation as a group project over this next year. The church that hosted the training workshop, New Hope Ministries, rolled out the red carpet for us: They provided audio and video recording of our workshop. These recordings can be used by PersonhoodUSA to train people across the country.
The cherry on the sundae was when we were invited to an event with keynote speaker and pro-life leader, Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She herself has been involved with personhood efforts in her home state of Georgia, so she was delighted to hear about all of our progress when spoke to her before the program. During her presentation, she asked us to tell the audience about ourselves and what we are doing. Plus she thought our iPerson shirts were pretty rockin' and had one of our PersonhoodNow! volunteers come to the front to model one for the rest of the group. (What more reason do you need to order one for yourself? Visit PersonhoodUSA's online store to get your very own!). The PersonhoodNow! team was also interviewed by the Naples Daily Times during the event.
On our way from Naples to to the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, we stopped at the Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park in order to stamp our National Parks Passports. We went a little further south of our destination by going to Key Largo and stretching out on beaches of the Keys.
Our friends, the Forman Family put us up (put up with us?) in Fort Lauderdale. They were such a blessing! In Fort Lauderdale, we contacted churches, met with pastors, conducted a training workshop and circulated the petition at a sunday church service at the First Christian Church of Fort Lauderdale. On Saturday afternoon, we petitioned outside a gun show. The response was mixed, but positive overall. We got into several great conversations and were able to challenge others opinions on the issue.
Our last stop of our tour of the state was the city of Jacksonville. Sarah Brooke is an all amazing PersonhoodNow! youth volunteer. In addition to finishing up courses and preparing to travel abroad for a scholastic competition, she set up several events for us to petition at, got us in contact with several churches, and wrangled a sizable crowd into coming to our training workshop. Our hosts, the Baker family, deserve an honorable mention as well. They were a very hospitable and fun family. While in Jacksonville, we met with local pastor and trained excited petitioners.
After bidding our farewell to the people of Jacksonville, we hit the road. Austin, dropped off the rest of the team in Atlanta, GA on his way back to Texas to start summer college courses. The rest of the team traveled to the Institute for Cultural Communicators' National Convention in Maryland in order to staff the event and share the Personhood message, before returning to their respective home states.
While the PersonhoodNow! Team is no longer barnstorming the state of Florida, PersonhoodFL is continuing to gain momentum. A major focus of our project was to train others and help build a statewide network of pro-life leaders. Our group was also a "guinea pig" project to see what a PersonhoodFL action team might look like. To our great satisfaction, action teams are sprouting up around the state! To find out how you can be involved, visit PersonhoodFL.com and sign up as a volunteer.
Goodbye for now from the PersonhoodNow! team. Thank you all for your prayers and support. Now go, be encouraged, and keep up the good fight for the Lord's precious children!
A note from Dr Annie in Montana
>THE OFFICIAL NEWS OF Montana ProLife Coalition
MPLC Online | Personhood is where it’s at!
June 10, 2010
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Dear Passionate Defenders of the Preborn:
Although we don’t know yet if we’ll make it on the ballot or not this year with the Montana Personhood Amendment, we do know that baby-murder will end in Montana. Here are some examples as to why, from the signature gatherers at polling places:
1. Voters not coerced by the CI 102 Blockers. Hundreds of people in Billings signed the ballot-access petitions after voting at the polls for the primary election. The signers had to endure pushy pro-abortion people from Planned Parenthood preaching loudly for folks not to sign, “If C.I. 102 passes, it will enslave women! Screech! The police will investigate miscarriages! It will deny healthcare to women! It goes too far!...“After (or during) moms and pops would walk through that, our volunteers would simply ask, “Would you like to sign the pro-life petition?” or “Would you like to sign to stop the killing of preborn babies?”
They signed! Many took volunteer packets and said that they would try to help get more signatures. They caught the vision to protect every baby in Montana by love and by law instead of attempting to regulate baby-murder in hopes that it will someday go away. http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/government-and-politics/elections/...
2. The “Nursing Mothers with Babies Petitioners Club.” Mrs. Anna Holmes stood with her baby alone at the polls in Laurel from 7:00 am – 2:00 pm. Mrs. Kari Love covered the polls while holding her baby the same length of time in west Billings. The “Walker Club.” Donna S. shuffled up with her walker to petition outside of the busy Metra in Billings. She stayed for five hours in the sun.
3. Kids. Fourteen year-old David competed with the noisiest pro-death hecklers to show his sign and get people to come over and sign for the circulators also at the Metra, for thirteen straight hours in the sun.http://www.kulr8.com/home/related/95949389.html?video=pop&t=a Sixteen year-old Corrie had the loud-mouthed C.E.O. of Planned Parenthood Montana hairdressing her for hours. Corrie won the debates, endured the mocking and remained to help the petitioners at her poll for -thirteen straight hours in the sun. Even competing elk-hunting petitioners commented on how impressed they were by kids with zeal and faith.
5. Well Placed. The election judges in Lewistown told us we had to stay outside. It was soon apparent that God had prompted the decision—at 6:45 AM the rising sun was shining like a spotlight on the Personhood table of petitions. I was asked to tell the voters to vote before signing our petitions. Therefore God had put us in the up-front position with a mandate from the election officials to speak to every person entering the polling place. “After you vote, I have a Pro life petition I would love to show you.” We were able to say “Pro Life” to every person coming to vote. The result was we were able to gather signatures from 1/3 of the voters.
6. Many already signed in church. Many voters reported they had already signed at church” which was an opportunity to call out praise to God and Blessings on the churches. We marveled as we saw all of God’s provision in sending helpers right at the moment of need for a break or the recognition of particular persons.
7. No CI 102 Blockers in Flathead County. In 2008, there were “No to CI 100” blockers from Planned Parenthood, NARAL and the ACLU, and many of them were belligerent. This year we had no blockers. I guess they knew it was a waste of time. AND…Planned Parenthood closed their doors during the second round of 40 Days of Prayer this Spring in Kalispell! Halleluiah!.
8. Native Americans are Prolife. Browning CCD Center has 5 precincts voting so there were many voters. Add that to the huge effort to “get out the Indian vote” in the past years and you have a wonderful opportunity for our cause. The Indian people tend to be prolife and reverent of the family. Fortunately we were located right at the entrance. Folks came in and thought we were part of the process, thought they had to show us ID. So we got to make eye contact with every one of them as we spoke to them.
9. “Bless Those Who Persecute You; Bless and Do Not Curse”. 21 and 23 year old brothers were repeatedly insulted and yelled at for collecting prolife signatures in Missoula, and responded each time with “God Bless You.” http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_da598cde-7370-11df-84aa-001cc4c…
10. Pastors. Read about one pastor who is happy when some of his members don’t come to church, but go to other churches to collect signatures: http://church.spirit.org/wordpress/?m=201006
The most important reason to be optimistic: When people believe God and obey His commands, their prayers for the slaughtering to stop will be heard and answered. It will stop in the Name of Jesus!
The June 18th Deadline is Upon Us! Come to Helena this Saturday 8 am for the Governor’s Cup Race or to Missoula 9 am for the March to Life, or to Victor 9 am for the Victor Days Parade. GREAT opportunities to collect signatures and hand out packets for others to collect signatures. Give ten friends a petition and affidavit and ask them to get ten signatures a piece. If this happens across Montana, we’ll get the cushion of signatures we need. This Sunday, the last Sunday before the deadline, collect one more time in your church or at a large supportive church near you.
May God Bless You for all your hard work in this critical time!
Annie Bukacek MD
President, Montana ProLife Coalition
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Download or print Petition Here, be sure to print both sides of petition.
Download or print Affidavit Here.
Download or print Voter Registration Here.
Download or print Poster for signature collection Here.
Posters and instructions how to use posters effectively. Here.
How to set up and maintain a table at the polls. Here.
Church bulletins, flyers and invites. Here.
An overview of polling practices and rules to follow. Here.
Giving away petition packets and the printed instructions. Here.
———————————————————————————————————————— P.O. Box 2758 Bigfork, Montana 59911
(406) 270-0606
If you have input toward this letter please email us back with your thoughts. This goes for our website also..
If you have stories, pictures etc. please send them as we are always looking for ways to inform the public.
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To find out about our organization Montana ProLife Coalition visit our website, or call (406) 270-0606. www.montanaprolifecoalition.org.
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Copyright 2010.
A Note From a Personhood Volunteer
Hello there, from sunny and breezy Florida! My name is Kristen Au from New Jersey and I arrived here to work with the Personhood Now! team on Sunday afternoon. I am thrilled to be part of everything that’s going on over here. We’re already off to an exciting start for our second week on the ground.
Sunday began bright and early at 3:45 AM – maybe I should say “dark and early” – for most of the team. Everyone woke up and headed off to petition at a triathlon at Madeira Beach. Some of the athletes were impressed that volunteer petitioners had woken up so early just to make the event!
Later that day, the team stopped by the airport to pick me up. Along our drive back, they told me stories about the past week and walked me through our schedule for the next month. The family that is hosting me during my stay here in Florida generously invited the team for dinner, where we had an amazing meal that was not only tasty, but also healthy. (Yes, Mom, I am doing a good job of eating properly while away from home. ;)) Three hours later, we had discussed history, economics, politics, religion, travels, our culture, and, of course, their two adorable dogs and had found ourselves a family of incredible supporters in the day-to-day work of our project.
On Monday morning, the team drove out to Port St. Lucie to meet with the directors of the state-wide Personhood Florida initiative, Brenda Mac Menamin and Pastor Brian Longworth. Over lunch, we talked about places and people to contact for different networking opportunities. I was so encouraged to hear about what else had been going on across the state and to see that this project is so much bigger than our small Personhood Now! team.
That afternoon, Mrs. MacMenamin took us two private Christian schools where we got to share our brand new training workshop on personhood and petitioning with the students. Running our workshop for a first time was a little nerve-racking, but the huge positive response from the students in both classes reminded me that communicating truth like this is something that really matters. It was just fantastic getting the chance to visit those schools and get the word out that there really is something we all can do about personhood. God bless Golden Rule Academy and Treasure Coast Christian School as they train future pro-life advocates to our culture!
But our chances and opportunities to do things definitely did not end there! Today has been quite a full day for us. This morning, I was reading from Oswald Chambers’ book My Utmost for His Highest and one sentence really stuck out to me: “God can do nothing for me until I get to the limit of the possible.” I was still thinking about that as we began our planning for the weekend and the next couple of weeks, having little idea how true that quote was.
Originally, we had hoped to petition at the FPEA Homeschool Convention this Friday and Saturday. As we continued to look into that, we discovered we would have to be affiliated with a booth in order to petition inside of the convention hall and that all of the booths had sold out in January. I thought we were pretty much stuck, although our team did try contacting several booths to see if they would be willing for our team to be affiliated with them so we could petition at the Convention. After many calls, the Verity Institute agreed to have us be affiliated with their booth during the Convention.
Later on, we were able to visit with local pro-life activist Shannon and talk with her about her involvement in 40 Days for Life. She shared her own knowledge with us and gave us some more contacts and support so we could continue setting up meetings, networking, and preparing training workshops. Her passion for the personhood issue was such an encouragement to me and I know I am looking forward to working with her more in the future.
Our second meeting that day was with Pastor Jon Farris from the Crosspointe Church. He was really on board with our project and even found space for us to present a bit of information about our initiative during next Sunday’s service. In addition to welcoming us to petition before and after the services, Pastor Farris is also bringing this issue to the attention of a group of pastors that he is affiliated with. Being able to see those two meetings unfold really showed me God’s hand in this project. So many open doors! I had no idea that what I expected to be a little petition drive could be this exciting!
Finally, if all of this wasn’t enough, we headed out the Ray’s game at Tropicana stadium and had a great time petitioning before the game started. It was my first time ever petitioning, but I caught on quickly and loved being out there, standing up for what I believe is right. Judging by our nice stack of petitions afterward, it looks like we chose a really good time to come out, petition, and give away plenty of magazines.
And, to cap the day off, it looks like we’ll be able to stay with a host family over in Orlando during the Convention, which will really save in travel time and costs. So, overall, today was incredible: not just amazing, but quite unbelievable. I had my idea of what was possible and then God took that and turned it into something far beyond anything I could ever expect, hope for, or even imagine. I definitely don’t want to dramatize what has been going on with our team, but wow! God is growing my faith and showing me that prayer truly matters.
PersonhoodNow! Team Update
The Lord is richly blessing the PersonhoodNow! team. This past week, we met with Pastor Danny Hodges of Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg. He got on board with the growing personhood movement by inviting us to circulate petitions at each of the church services this coming week and the week after. Additionally, he made calls to a few of his friends who also became enthusiastic about working with us. Those people recommended that we meet with people that they knew, as well. It’s exciting to see the pro-life network expand throughout the Sunshine State!
We drove to downtown Clearwater to circulate the personhood petitions at the Smile Awareness Month event. All we had to do was smile at the event organizers and they gave us a smily face donut and coffee. The guys on the team were all over that! We then walked through the streets of the downtown petitioning. Something interesting about this experience was that the Church of Scientology has its national headquarters in downtown Clearwater. We had the opportunity to not only circulate the petition, but to also witness to these people who have been led astray.
We met with a local pro-life leader, Sol Pitchon. Mr. Pitchon has a great ministry that counsels pregnant mothers, aids needy families, and raises awareness about abortion alternatives. Mr. Pitchon gave a hearty endorsement of the amendment. He connected us with churches, denominational associations, and media networks. We’re looking forward to reaching even more people within the state with these leads.
On Saturday morning, we gathered signatures at a local farmer’s market. The event was going quite well until the event organizer confronted us. She told us that we were not allowed to circulate the petition and that we had to leave the (public) property. We graciously informed her that we had a right to circulate a petition on the public sidewalk. She proceeded to call the police. When the police arrived, he reiterated to all of us that we have the right to assemble on public property as well as speak to individuals about the plight of the unborn. We learned to not back down in the face of persecution, but to stand up for our God-given and Constitutionally-insured rights.
After a long week of petitioning (a week that was made much longer by our “friend” at the farmer’s market), we hit Treasure Island beach Saturday afternoon. It was nice to be able to relax and soak up the Florida sunshine for a few hours!
Sunday morning came sooner than usual, as we had to be at Madeira beach each in time for a 5:30 a.m. triathlon. It wasn’t easy getting up that early, but it was definitely worth the effort. We gathered many signatures from the early morning exercisers. One of the triathletes (and signer of our petition) was the sponsor of the Florida ultrasound bill two legislative sessions in a row. We had the opportunity to talk to him about how the personhood initiative strikes the heart of the abortion issue! The competitors as well as the event organizers were very receptive and easy to work with.
The day ended well quite splendidly. Our New Jersey girl, Kristen Au, arrived to join the team. After finishing up college courses and other ministry obligations, Kristen was able to fly to Florida to work with us full time. She is such a joy to work with and is an invaluable asset to the PersonhoodNow! team.
Thank you for all your support so far and we’ll be sending another update very shortly!
An Update from PersonhoodUSA's Youth Team
An Update From The PersonhoodNow! Team in Florida
It didn’t take long for the team to get settled in, here in St. Petersburg. We’re staying at a house owned by Calvary Chapel and we’re incredibly thankful for their tremendous hospitality and support for what we’re doing. Our first week on the ground has been a whirlwind of activity. Since arriving, we’ve already petitioned at a number of events, including Bible studies, church services, a Tampa Rays game, and a Country Music Throwdown at the State Fairgrounds.
We met some interesting people at the country concert. As we were circulating the petitions, we came upon a group of people playing beer pong in the parking lot. We weren’t sure if we should ask them to take part in our civic matter, but we mustered up the courage to ask them if they would like to sign our pro-life petition. Their self-proclaimed spokesman announced that the game of beer pong was on hold and that everyone in the group would sign the petition. Help can come from unexpected places. Through this experience we learned to follow God’s direction no matter who he leads us to, even if the situation doesn’t appear fruitful from our human perspective.
We visited a speech and debate tournament being held by the Institute for Cultural Communicators in Lutz so that we could meet with some our mutual friends in the organization, judge debate rounds, and network with the pastor of the North Tampa Church of Christ, where the tournament was being held. He said that this initiative was definitely something that his church would like to be involved in!
Our house-mate TJ invited us to a Calvary Chapel “Life Group” Bible Study, so we came for the study and were asked to share a little bit about the personhood project. We were able to pass around the petition and everyone signed it. Many took literature and more petitions so that their friends could sign! Plus, there was free food there. It was a win-win-win-win situation.
On Sunday morning, we met with the priest at Holy Family Catholic Church before going to Covenant Bible Church in Plant City, where we gave a personhood presentation for the congregation during the service. It was exciting to see such a staunchly pro-life church that was so willing to get involved! They asked us to set up a table in the fellowship hall and everyone came to sign our petition. Those who couldn’t sign it took down our information so that they could get involved and others took extra petitions so that they could get more signatures. That evening we went to Calvary Chapel’s college group called The Remnant, where we gave another personhood presentation and collected signatures. Many wanted to learn how to circulate petitions themselves, so that they could get their friends to sign. Plus, there was an ice cream social afterwards.
I was greatly encouraged after meeting with a local sidewalk counselor who was interested in what the PersonhoodNow! team is doing. Mrs. Espisito took petitions and personhood materials to share with a Crisis Pregnancy Centers conference in Orlando and prayed over our activities while we are here. Another exciting meeting was with the pastor of Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg, which has about ten thousand attendees each week. After we shared the personhood strategy with him, he was excited to help us by talking to other pastors and allowing us to circulate petitions at Calvary Chapel.
During our “down time”, we wove together a Personhood Program that incorporates interpretive elements from Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! and Frank Peretti’s Tilly. We also completed a training workshop designed to teach others how to petition and how talk about the issue of abortion effectively in the conversations that might come up. We plan to provide the training workshop and/or perform the program for any groups, clubs, or churches who are interested. If you are part of a group that would like to know more, email me at joshjcraddock@gmail.com. And of course, keep us in your prayers as we continue to crusade for personhood in the state of Florida!
Amendment 62 / Personhood, gets more GOP support than in 2008
By Charles Ashby
Monday, May 10, 2010
The last time the personhood amendment made the Colorado ballot in 2008, a number of anti-abortion Republican leaders either distanced themselves from it or outright opposed the idea because they said it went too far.
None of that seems to be the case with the 2010 version of the measure, political observers say.
As a result, all of the top-named GOP candidates for governor and the U.S. Senate have publicly supported the ballot question that would declare that life begins at conception.
That’s a big contrast from 2008, when such top GOP people as then-U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer and Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams, among others, were outspoken critics of the ballot question that voters ultimately trounced by an overwhelmingly 3-1 margin.
This year’s ballot question, known as Amendment 62, is written virtually the same. Instead of saying a human life begins at the moment of fertilization, it says life begins at the “biological development” of that human being.
What’s the difference?
“There isn’t a big difference,” said Gualberto Garcia Jones, director of Personhood Colorado, the group that put both measures on the ballot. “It’s a technicality, but it’s not meant to mislead anyone or give us an excuse to do it again.”
The ultimate goal is to make abortion illegal, and the ballot means to do that by drawing what would almost certainly be a court challenge. Garcia Jones and other personhood supporters hope that inevitable lawsuit will lead to a reversal of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that led to legalized abortions.
In 2008, however, top GOP leaders such as Wadhams and Schaffer said if the personhood measure ended up in court, it ran the risk of solidifying that court ruling rather than reversing it.
But while Garcia Jones disagreed with arguments against the 2008 ballot question now just as much as he did then, he was surprised to learn it’s winning support among such mainstream political candidates as Jane Norton and Ken Buck, who are running for U.S. Senate, and Dan Maes and Scott McInnis, who announced his support for the idea at a Western Colorado Conservative Alliance debate last week.
“Just goes to show you, I’m the director of the campaign and I didn’t know that,” he said. “If they’re supporting it, it’s probably because of a combination of their principles and the political climate.”
Democrats are just as much against the idea this year as they were the last time, and they’re not alone. The Colorado Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s three Catholic dioceses on matters of public policy, is expected to come out against it this year as it did in 2008.
Political pollster Floyd Ciruli said the politics behind the ballot question, just like politics in general this year compared to 2008, are entirely different.
That election was viewed as a big Democratic year, and polarizing GOP social issues such as abortion were unlikely to go anywhere, Ciruli said.
This year the political landscape is more favorable to Republicans, and any issue that would bring conservative voters to the polls is something they need to embrace, he said.
“This is a primary in which these front-runner candidates are being challenged by their right,” Ciruli said. “Not only do they need to win that challenge, they still need lots of enthusiasm from that block of voters. When you look down the repertoire of what they have said, they are consistently taking the most conservative views that they might have waffled on a few years ago.”
Like Ciruli, Wadhams said taking such far-right stances on social issues won’t hurt Republican candidates in general elections as they may have in the past, because the electorate as a whole isn’t focused on them.
Historically, candidates on both sides of the political aisle tended to steer clear of such hot-button issues that can pull them too far from the center. But this year, the focus is so directed on the economy, jobs and fiscal matters, such issues as abortion will almost go unnoticed, Wadhams said.
“I don’t think is this is going to be a defining issue in these campaigns either way,” he said. “What is far more of issue is the cost, scope, size and power of government. That has to do with the stimulus bill, the health care bill, cap and trade, car taxes. Those are the issues that define the agenda of 2010.”
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