The North Dakota House of Representatives has passed the first personhood amendment in the United States, 57-35. Read more
Nevada
Nevada Judge Rules Personhood Amendment Meets Single Subject Rule, Rewrites Description Using Detractor’s Claims
Carson City, NV – 12/20/11 – A state judge in Nevada has rewritten language for a personhood amendment, handing down a decision on a lawsuit filed by abortion industry giant Planned Parenthood and pro-abortion group the ACLU. This is the second such lawsuit in Nevada, and among nearly a dozen nationwide, in which abortion profiteers Planned Parenthood have attempted to halt citizen-led efforts for pro-life ballot initiatives.
A 2010 Nevada lawsuit was successful in blocking the effort, but in this most recent decision the judge ruled against Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, stating that the amendment did not violate the single subject rule, and allowing the initiative to go forward.
However, the judge’s decision is marred by the rewrite of the language, incorrectly stating: “The initiative will impact some rights Nevada women currently have to utilize some forms of birth control, including the 'pill;' and to access certain fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization. The initiative will affect embryonic stem cell research, which offers potential for treating diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, and others.”
In truth, third-party organizations such as the Mississippi Center for Public Policy have established that women will still have access to contraceptives and fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization. As with all personhood amendments, the only pills and procedures that would be outlawed are those that are used to intentionally kill an innocent person.
“The judge appears to have taken a page from Planned Parenthood’s book of scare tactics,” commented Keith Mason, President of Personhood USA. “Planned Parenthood states that the pill kills when they are trying to block personhood measures, but tells their patients it is contraceptive when they are selling it.”
“Further, the decision says that personhood will block access to in vitro fertilization when, in reality, it will only block the procedures that intentionally kill innocent children such as the discarding of 'unused embryos' and 'selective reduction' abortion of twins, triplets, and multiples, thus making it safer for both moms and babies,” continued Mason. “An IVF study published in October stated that ‘Transferring one embryo into women during in vitro fertilization (IVF) doesn't lower their chances of giving birth but it does mean fewer women give birth to twins, with all the attendant health risks.’”
“Thankfully, it is true that the initiative will end embryonic stem cell research, but the judge was incorrect in stating that the practice holds any promise,” said Mason. "Rather, embryonic stem cell research has been abandoned by corporations owning the patents. The discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) means that embryonic stem cell research is obsolete. Adult stem cell research holds all of the promise and has proven successful in discovering dozens of treatments.”
Organizers have stated their intent to either appeal the decision or resubmit the language entirely.
“Just as we are pleased with the court's understanding and ruling, we are significantly more perplexed and disappointed by the second part of his ruling. Not only did this judge deny our amended description of effect which the court had ordered we submit, this egregious ruling demands that use the very language proposed by Planned Parenthood and the ACLU who sued to block our initiative in the first place,” said Chet Gallagher, Director of the Nevada Pro-life Coalition. “In the great state of Nevada, which historically protects our freedoms and first amendment rights, this is an outrageous infringement of free speech and the right to petition for redress of grievances. This court order significantly compromises the truth of the life-saving personhood amendment we have proposed.”
Planned Parenthood on the attack against Personhood; Personhood USA, state groups moving forward
Washington D.C. -- Pro-abortion bedfellows, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, are teaming up across the country to interfere with the right of citizens to petition the government, on behalf of the preborn, for a redress of grievances.
On Wednesday, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards sent a fundraising letter to abortion proponents noting that “this ballot initiative is about more than just one state. Anti-choice activists hope that a win in Mississippi will lead to a national movement.” Richards boasts that they have “stopped similar efforts in other states,” and pleads for “help to stop this dangerous ballot initiative.”
Planned Parenthood tried, unsuccessfully, to thwart the Mississippi personhood effort by filing suit last year portending that the amendment would alter the state’s Bill of Rights, a move prohibited by state law.
In the majority opinion the State Supreme Court would have no part of it. Justice Randy G. Pierce wrote:
“The dissent worries that Measure 26 ‘seeks to modify the definition’ of ‘person or persons’ as they appear in the Mississippi Constitution. But those terms have never been defined. Therefore, Measure 26 cannot modify a definition that does not now exist.”
In just three weeks, Mississippians will decide whether or not to recognize the rights of persons not yet born by defining the term “person” to “include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof."
“They’re starting to show signs of desperation,” said Keith Mason, President of Personhood USA, an organization assisting the grassroots personhood groups. “Personhood is a growing and thriving movement. Planned Parenthood knows exactly what the consequences will be—Roe v. Wade defeated and an end to the abortion profiteering.”
The latest attack is in Nevada where the abortion allies are challenging two personhood measures--one proposed by the Nevada Pro-life Coalition. A judge ruled against the Nevada groups last year citing the “single subject rule” which requires that amendments be limited in scope to a single issue. A 2008 Planned Parenthood lawsuit in Colorado on the same grounds failed.
“Of course it was broad, but it was a single issue,” said Chet Gallagher, President of the Nevada Pro-life Coalition. “It’s a human rights issue--a measure designed to include a people group who have been perpetually discriminated against and killed. Can you imagine a judge ruling that extending personhood to African-Americans after the Civil War was not a single issue?”
The Nevada Pro-life Coalition’s recent proposal leaves no room for doubt by specifically addressing the foundational right to life. It reads:
“Unalienable right to life of every prenatal person is protected. The intentional taking of a prenatal person’s life shall never be allowed in this State. For the purpose of this section only, the term 'prenatal person' includes every human being at all stages of biological development before birth.”
“If Planned Parenthood and the ACLU believe that by affirming the single principle of one's right to life we are running counter to the people’s right to petition, they are sorely mistaken,” continued Mason. “They lost in Colorado, they lost in Mississippi, and they will lose in Nevada.”
Tyrant Judges Trample 1st Amendment Rights In Nevada.
Nevada Supreme Court Runs Out the Clock on Personhood Initiative
Carson City, NV – June 18, 2010 – After sitting on the case for months, the Nevada State Supreme Court waited until the day after the Personhood Nevada deadline to now ask why they should have to decide the case at all.
On January 8, District Court Judge James Russell, in issuing an injunction keeping the personhood initiative off the ballot and preventing signature collection, ruled that the fourteen word amendment did not encompass a single subject.
The proposed amendment reads, “In the great state of Nevada, the term ‘person’ applies to every human being.”
Personhood Nevada filed an appeal of Judge Russell’s decision to the Nevada Supreme Court on February 12. Despite the timely manner of Personhood Nevada’s appeal, the Nevada Supreme Court waited until the day after the deadline to issue its order.
The Court Order read, “It appears that the initiative’s proponents may not have obtained sufficient signatures to place the measure on the ballot, thus rendering this appeal moot. This court’s duty is to decide actual controversies, not to give opinions on moot questions.”
Personhood Nevada was prohibited from collecting even one signature by Judge Russell’s decision. The Nevada Supreme Court was aware of Judge Russell’s decision, and its ramifications, one of which being that Personhood Nevada would be in violation of the law, and in contempt of court, for collecting even one signature.
“Clearly this is an offense to our 1st Amendment rights,” stated Olaf Vancura, initiative sponsor. “The Court delayed their response for so long that they now have the audacity to try to avoid a decision altogether. When the appeal was filed, the petition was not moot. The court, by its own inaction, may now possibly find the issue moot. This is a gross obstruction of my rights, and those of our board and volunteers as both Americans and Nevadans! The Supreme Court needs to decide this case now; if they don’t, we can expect the same injustices to repeat in 2012.”
Continued Vancura, “The state legislature’s small time window to gather petitions, coupled with the routing of all challenges through a single, activist district court, mean that it is nearly impossible for any citizen-led initiative to reach the ballot if challenged. Tragically in Nevada, the citizens’ right to petition is now, for all practical purposes, defunct.”
Personhood Nevada Denied Right to Circulate Petition; Prepares for 2012
Personhood Nevada Denied Right to Circulate Petition; Prepares for 2012
Carson City, NV – Personhood Nevada, through many legal battles, has been denied the right to circulate their prolife petition in the state. The ACLU joined forces with Planned Parenthood, tying the petition up in court and disallowing the many ready and willing Nevada volunteers their right to circulate the petition.
“We have several issues at the heart of this matter,” explained Keith Mason, co-founder of Personhood USA. “First, we have judicial activists ruling against the petition, despite the fact that nearly similar language has been approved in other states. Second, we have the anti-personhood media reporting that we failed to get the required signatures – when in fact, Personhood Nevada was not allowed to get even ONE signature. This is clearly a case of big money versus the rights of the citizens – but we’re preparing to try again, even stronger than before. ”
The people’s voice in Nevada has been silenced by those who profit from abortion the most – Planned Parenthood, with over one billion dollars in profit in recent years. Planned Parenthood, in conjunction with the ACLU, are fighting against the rights of Nevada citizens to circulate a petition for a constitutional amendment.
The one-sentence proposed state constitutional amendment states, “In the great state of Nevada, the term ‘person’ applies to every human being.”
James T. Russell, District Judge of Carson City, ruled on January 8, 2010 that the one-sentence amendment was a myriad of subjects. Personhood Nevada appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court, but a ruling has yet to be handed down.
“We have volunteer petition circulators who have been waiting for months,” added Olaf Vancura, President of Personhood Nevada. “Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and the liberal courts have stifled our ability to engage in free speech, legally maneuvering until me miss our statutory deadline, and keeping us from exercising our constitutional rights as Americans and Nevadans. We are determined that no matter how long it takes, we will not be silenced. The personhood petition will be approved, and we will protect all human life in the state of Nevada.”
For Interviews Contact:
Olaf Vancura 702-494-8229
Or
Keith Mason 202-595-3500
Personhood USA is a grassroots, Christian organization founded to establish personhood efforts across America to create protection for every child by love and by law. Personhood USA is committed to assisting and supporting Personhood Legislation and Constitutional Amendments and building local pro-life organizations through raising awareness of the personhood of the pre-born.
www.personhoodnevada.com
www.personhoodusa.com
PERSONHOOD NEVADA APPEAL TO NEVADA SUPREME COURT HEARING TO TAKE PLACE APRIL 6, 2010 IN LAS VEGAS
April 5, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PERSONHOOD NEVADA APPEAL TO NEVADA SUPREME COURT
HEARING TO TAKE PLACE APRIL 6, 2010 IN LAS VEGAS
The hearing for Personhood Nevada’s expedited appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court will take place at the:
Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, 200 Lewis Avenue Las Vegas, NV 89101
April 6, 2010 at 11:30 a.m.
Commented President Olaf Vancura, PhD, “Establishing personhood for every human being is the greatest civil rights issue of our generation. The American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion profiteer, are trying to muzzle Nevadans’ 1st Amendment rights. On April 6, 2010, the Nevada Supreme Court has the opportunity to correct the flagrant infringement upon the people’s constitutional right to petition and vote upon this citizen-led initiative.“
Personhood Nevada is a grassroots organization leading a historic civil rights initiative to amend the Constitution of the State of Nevada, the proposed Amendment reading simply as follows:
In the great state of Nevada, the term ‘person’ applies to every human being.
Personhood Nevada will hold a press conference on site immediately after the court hearing.
Contact: Candy Best, Spokesperson 702 / 556-1134 candy@personhoodnevada.com
Personhood Nevada Files Appeal in State Supreme Court to keep personhood alive.
Personhood Nevada Files Appeal in State Supreme Court to keep personhood alive.
Las Vegas NV/ 2-11-2010/ Personhood Nevada appealed to the State Supreme Court today, calling for the overturning of Judge James Russell’s opinion against the Nevada Personhood Amendment.
On Friday, January 8, Judge Russell ruled that the fourteen word amendment did not encompass a single subject, although it is comprised of merely a handful of words and one of the most succinct ever to be filed in that State.
“It’s a civil rights initiative by and for the people. By the logic of First District Court Judge James Russell, the people of Nevada would never be allowed to bring forth a civil rights initiative,” observed Personhood Nevada President Olaf Vancura. “Such denial is unconstitutional. We’re appealing to the Supreme Court in hopes that they will recognize the voters’ rights in the State of Nevada. We appeal this decision not just because it was badly decided by Judge Russell, but to ensure that the voice of the people of Nevada is heard.”
A similar lawsuit was filed by Planned Parenthood against Colorado’s Personhood Amendment in 2008, but the lawsuit failed. Although the Colorado amendment was longer, it was found to be a single subject issue and allowed to proceed.
“We have seen these tactics before,” noted Keith Mason, co-founder of Personhood USA. “Judge Russell is the first to take the side of Planned Parenthood, but we are confident that the voters’ rights will prevail and Personhood will be on Nevada’s ballot in the near future.”
Judge Denies Nevada Citizens’ Right to Personhood Ballot Initiative
Judge Denies Nevada Citizens’ Right to Personhood Ballot Initiative
Carson City, Nevada, 01/11/2010 – A ballot initiative by human rights group Personhood Nevada has been thwarted by Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and local Judge James Russell. On Friday, January 8, Judge Russell ruled that the fourteen word amendment did not encompass a single subject, although it is comprised of merely a handful of words and one of the most succinct ever to be filed in that State.
The proposed amendment reads, “In the great state of Nevada, the term ‘person’ applies to every human being.” The Judge’s decision declares that the people of Nevada are not entitled to vote on this matter, and that the State’s very own policies and procedures to amend the Constitution through ballot initiatives should not be applied to this specific civil rights amendment.
Judge Russell was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, “The issue to me is, are we adequately informing voters on what they’re voting on. There’s no way for the voter to understand the effects of the initiative.”
Personhood USA legal analyst Gualberto Garcia-Jones was disturbed by the Judge’s comments. “Judge Russell is being disingenuous,” he remarked. “There is a very simple way for the voter to understand the effect of the initiative, namely, read the 200 word description that immediately follows the 14 word ballot text. That 200 word description includes: ‘This amendment codifies the inalienable right to life for everyone, young or old, healthy or ill, conscious or unconscious, born or unborn.’ Judge Russell is abusing his power and jumping the gun by prejudging the effect of the law.” “
In 2008, Planned Parenthood sued to prevent the Colorado ballot initiative from moving forward, claiming that it was not a single subject issue, and lost the lawsuit. The initiative, although longer than the Nevada initiative, was found to be a single subject and allowed to proceed.
“This is a civil rights initiative by and for the people of Nevada. Civil rights initiatives, by their nature, tend to have broad scope, yet are still a single subject issue,” explained Olaf Vancura, President of Personhood Nevada. “Under the logic and precedent of this court, ANY civil rights initiative brought forth by the people of this great state will be struck down as overly broad. We must appeal this erroneous decision, not only because the Judge ruled wrongly, but for the future of Nevada.”
For Information Or Interviews Contact:
Olaf Vancura
702-556-1134
Court Hearing to Decide Personhood Initiative Fate Held Today in Carson City
Hearing to Decide Personhood Initiative Fate Held Today in Carson City
Carson City, NV 1/08/2010 – The ACLU has joined forces with abortion giant Planned Parenthood to stop the initiative process of Nevada citizens. The simple, one sentence amendment reads: “In the great state of Nevada, the term ‘person’ applies to every human being.”
The hearing on this matter, in the First Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada, will take place at 9 a.m. Friday morning, January 8, 2010 in Carson City, the state’s capitol.
Personhood Nevada is a citizen-led initiative to amend the Constitution of the State of Nevada.
Olaf Vancura, PhD, President of Personhood Nevada, stated “The right to live is God-given and the most precious of all civil rights,” stated Olaf Vancura, PhD, President of Personhood Nevada.” Absent government leadership in protecting our most vulnerable persons, we the people are expressing our 1st Amendment rights with this historic civil rights initiative.”
On November 12, 2009, the ACLU and billion-dollar-per-year abortion profiteer Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit challenging the amendment wording and summary. Similar legal challenges have been dismissed in other states attempting Personhood initiatives.
In commenting on the legal challenge, Vancura continued, “The abortion lobby’s plan is clear – delay, delay, delay. They are trying to run out the clock so that Nevadans cannot vote on this historic civil rights initiative. Their notion that this proposed Amendment violates the single-subject rule is absurd. This initiative is the epitome of a single subject. The last citizen-led initiative to successfully amend the Nevada constitution comprised over 400 words. Our proposed Amendment has only 14 words, the first 6 of which affirm that Nevada is a great state, the remaining 8 of which clarify ‘the term person applies to every human being.’ The Personhood Nevada language is simple enough that a child could explain it to an attorney.”
Today’s hearing will determine whether the citizen-led initiative can continue.
To for more information or to donate to Personhood Nevada, please visit www.PersonhoodNevada.com.
VIRGINIA MOTHER WHO ALLEGEDLY MURDERED HER NEWBORN BABY WITH IMPUNITY HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR NEVADA PERSONHOOD AMENDMENT
December 29, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VIRGINIA MOTHER WHO ALLEGEDLY MURDERED HER NEWBORN BABY
WITH IMPUNITY HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR NEVADA PERSONHOOD AMENDMENT
Personhood Nevada is appalled and deeply grieved at the news reported from Virginia, in which a mother allegedly murdered her own newborn baby and will not be charged with a crime. Situations such as this, in which children are denied their very right to live, highlight the need for the Nevada Personhood Amendment. The proposed Amendment reads, simply,
In the great state of Nevada, the term ‘person’ applies to every human being.Olaf Vancura, PhD, President of Personhood Nevada, stated, “If this Amendment had been in place in Virginia, the woman would be in jail right now. No one has the right to kill another human being at any stage of biological development. The right to live is a God-given, fundamental civil right.”
Ken Wilson, Personhood Nevada board member stated, “As the father of 3 young children, I am utterly and completely shocked at this horrific and detestably evil crime. How a mother can kill her own child is something I will never be able to understand, no matter how much praise Planned Parenthood lavishes on mothers who do it every day. Our society has now come full circle, from condemning those who kill children, to actually lifting up such people as champions of women’s rights. We now live in a time when even our laws protect the killing and the killers of our own children. It is beyond tragic. It is the death of our culture.”
Personhood Nevada spokesperson Candy Best added, “The news of this travesty sickens me to the very core of my being! To think that a dehumanizing technicality, such as an intentionally uncut umbilical cord connecting mother and child, could legally render Virginia law enforcement impotent to arrest and prosecute a mother for murder is frightening and beyond belief. To twist and pervert what God had provided to serve as the cord of life into a legal justification to violently take a child’s life, is at least a serious miscarriage of justice and at most the cruelest kind of murder of innocence. This precious child who was killed by his or her own mother has as much right to live as any other human being – as much as any other person. This act was diabolically criminal. It is surreal to imagine a law that protects both the act of murder and the murderer. Why did Virginia legislators not act when police requested them to earlier? This is what happens when “choice” is taken to its logical extreme. It is our solemn duty to ensure and protect every person’s God-given right to live, even if they live in another state.”
Personhood Nevada stands for the right of all Nevadans to be protected by love and by law.
Contact: Olaf Vancura 702 / 556-1134 olaf@personhoodnevada.com
PERSONHOOD NEVADA COMMENTARY WITH RESPECT TO NEVADA'S RENO-AREA PROLIFE GROUPS
“All of us in the life-affirming movement share a noble and unifying goal. That goal is the protection of everyone’s right to live. While some may differ with our approach, we applaud the productive efforts of all who advance this cause,” said Olaf Vancura, PhD, President of Personhood Nevada.
Board member Ken Wilson added, “The fight to end the killing of prenatal children takes place on multiple fronts. We respect and support every prolife organization’s worthy efforts to save and protect human life.”
Commented Board member Anna Serra-Radford, “I ask every citizen of Nevada to take a good look at this Amendment. It speaks to all of us. We have seen thus far what discarding the rights of our prenatal children has ushered in — the dehumanization of the elderly, handicapped, ill and mentally disabled. Personhood seeks to restore and protect these rights for all.”
The following statement may be attributed to Personhood Nevada:
The right to live is the preeminent civil right. This Amendment protects every member of our human family throughout the continuum of life. Our right to live is not an arbitrary privilege granted solely to the elite only to be denied to the least desirable among us. It is not some legal gift given to the young only to be stripped away from our elderly and “unproductive”. It is a fundamental right… our bedrock Constitutional truth upon which all other rights and laws stand. Without our right to live, and live freely, our very lives are property whose ownership is not our own.
The right to live freely as equal members of society has always been fought and won at great cost. The United States Constitution, ratified in 1787, in Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3 outlined how our population was to be counted. The infamous “3/5 Compromise” counted free persons as 1 and slaves as 3/5. It was not until the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865 that slavery, the “right” to own another human being, was abolished.
But suppose a law had been crafted, say in 1800, requiring “a 24-hour waiting period before beating your slave” or “notification (if under 18) of your parents before killing your slave”? Incremental laws, such as these, would have done nothing to establish the equality of all African Americans. Indeed, they would have further entrenched and legitimized slavery. The core problem then, as now, is that some Americans were not considered Americans at all. Though they were human, they were unworthy of being counted as people.
Prenatal children today are considered property, not fellow Americans. Though they are human, they are not considered people. “Incremental laws” that attempt to decrease the killing of prenatal children in fact do nothing to address the root problem, namely that prenatal Americans are deliberately denied their civil rights as persons. Does Our Creator agree with laws that state, “If you wait 24 hours, you may have an abortion”? Obviously not. The sober truth is, in every abortion, someone dies.
Our prenatal children today have no civil rights; they are counted much less than 3/5… they are counted as zero. The people of Nevada, through this Amendment, will correct this injustice once and for all. The right to live is not a timing issue; rather time is of the essence.
For more information on the Nevada Personhood Initiative, please visit: www.PersonhoodNevada.com.
Contact: Olaf Vancura 702 / 556-1134 olaf@personhoodnevada.com
Recent Press Releases
Recent Blog Posts
Personhood in the News
