The North Dakota House of Representatives has passed the first personhood amendment in the United States, 57-35. Read more
Press Release
Governor Haley Barbour Votes “Yes!” on Mississippi Personhood Amendment; Planned Parenthood Continues Running Deceptive Ads
Jackson, MS — Personhood USA was pleased to learn on Thursday night that Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has voted “Yes” on Amendment 26 via absentee ballot. The amendment to the Mississippi Constitution will recognize every human being, from conception, as a legal person. The Governor made the announcement while taking questions at a rally for Republican gubernatorial candidate, and Yes on 26 campaign Co-chair, Lt. Governor Phil Bryant.
“Personhood USA congratulates Governor Barbour for making the correct decision in voting to protect the lives of the innocent,” said Keith Mason, President of Personhood USA. “The babies that will be saved by Amendment 26 will live, grow up, and return to thank the Governor along with the overwhelming number of politicians, medical professionals, and citizens who have advocated for their right to live.”
Barbour had told interviewers earlier in the week that he was in the process of making his decision. “I think all in all, I know I believe life begins at conception. So I think the right thing to do was to vote for it,” he said.
On Wednesday, Planned Parenthood and the pro-abortion opponents of the measure launched a robo-calling and television commercial campaign using clips from an interview with Barbour, urging the state’s residents to vote “no.”
“The people of Mississippi will not be fooled,” continued Mason. “These tactics will backfire on Planned Parenthood. The people of Mississippi are well-informed. They will hear that the Governor voted ‘Yes’ on the amendment, and see that Planned Parenthood is running ads implying that he did not. They understand which group deals in facts, and which is propagating lies.”
Personhood USA Reports Unprecedented Endorsements for Yes on 26 Campaign
Jackson, MS — Yes on 26 has published endorsements received by the campaign, among them a noted Civil Rights leader, pro-family organizations, doctors, pastors, and both Democrats and Republicans.
Included in the list of supporters is American Civil Rights leader John M. Perkins, author of “Let Justice Roll Down”. Mr. Perkins has been outspoken in his support of Amendment 26. A video titled “Why Amendment 26 Matters to African-Americans” chronicling Mr. Perkins’ support of Amendment 26 can be found at http://www.yeson26.net.
Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, NY Times best-selling author, and radio and television host demonstrated his support of Amendment 26 by speaking at a campaign kick-off event which also featured Christian recording artist Mark Schultz and Deanna Favre, founder of Deanna Favre Hope Foundation and wife to NFL Quarterback Brett Favre.
Organizations including American Family Association, Liberty Counsel, Mississippi Baptist Convention, and Pro Life Mississippi have endorsed the pro-life amendment, and Family Research Council has bolstered the effort by defending it on MSNBC.
Pro family organizations and noted leaders are joined by an extensive list of pastors and physicians, including OB/GYNs, General Practitioners, Surgeons, and Neonatologists. The list is available at http://www.yeson26.net/amendment-26/who-has-endorsed-amdt-26/ .
“Science confirms that a person is a human being at the moment of fertilization. At that moment, we are fully human and fully alive,” explained Dr. Freda Bush, Mississippi OB/GYN in a video for Yes on 26. “…let’s welcome and protect all mothers and babies, without exception.”
In addition, Amendment 26 is in the unique position of being championed by both Republican and Democratic candidates in Mississippi’s 2011 election cycle, including both candidates for Governor, both candidates for Attorney General, and many candidates for Senate and House of Representatives.
Senator Roger Wicker, Representative Alan Nunnelee, and Representative Greg Harper recorded a video in support of Amendment 26, along with a video from Representative Steven Palazzo, both of which can be viewed at http:/http://www.youtube.com/yeson26dotnet.
Lieutenant Governor and Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Phil Bryant Co-Chairs the Yes on 26 Advisory Board with American Family Association President Don Wildmon.
Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Johnny DuPree has also endorsed Amendment 26.
“I have never seen a prolife effort receive such broad-based, bipartisan support,” observed Keith Mason, President of Personhood USA. “It is really astonishing to see how many Mississippi pastors, doctors, lawyers, and politicians – both Republican and Democrat – support Amendment 26. The people of Mississsippi have worked extremely hard to put Amendment 26 on the ballot, and they have worked just as hard to spread the word that Amendment 26 is the best way to vote prolife.“
Personhood USA Questions Haley Barbour’s Confusion on Amendment 26; Finds Possible Answers in Financial Reports
Jackson, MS -- Personhood USA has discovered that outgoing Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour received campaign contributions from the makers of the abortion pill. Barbour told interviewers yesterday on both Fox News and MSNBC that he has concerns about Mississippi’s Personhood Amendment 26 and that he was unsure as to how he was going to vote on the measure.
“Personhood USA was surprised at Barbour’s comments. Was he influenced by misinformation? Or donations from abortion pill makers?” considered Keith Mason, President of Personhood USA. “Amendment 26 is one of the most supported pro-life measures in the history of the country. Nearly every politician in the state, both Republican and Democrat, has endorsed it. The lengthy list of endorsements includes gubernatorial candidate Phil Bryant, and his Democratic opponent, as well as both candidates for Attorney General, and dozens of others.”
Receipts from Barbour’s 2007 gubernatorial campaign list a $5000 contribution from Pfizer PAC and a $1000 contribution from Pfizer, Inc. The pharmaceutical company is the manufacturer of Misoprostol tablets, one of the two pills taken to kill preborn human beings in the “abortion pill method.”
“Pfizer stands to lose money in sales of Misoprostol tablets for ‘abortion pill method’ abortions—especially when you consider that Mississippi is just the first in a growing and thriving movement to protect the lives of every person, born and preborn,” explained Mason.
Barbour was quoted in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger saying, “I believe life begins at conception. Unfortunately, this personhood amendment doesn’t say that.”
In fact, the Yes on 26 campaign believes that Barbour must not understand the amendment. The measure does read that “the term 'person' or 'persons' shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof."
Like every pro-lifer, the “Father of Modern Genetics,” Dr. Jerome Lejeune, used the terms interchangeably: "After fertilization has taken place a new human being has come into being. It is no longer a matter of taste or opinion...it is plain experimental evidence. Each individual has a very neat beginning, at conception."
“Conception is fertilization,” Mason continued. “It is the union of the sperm and egg to form a new, living, and unique human being. Barbour’s words seem to indicate some confusion. Once he is informed that the amendment does agree that life begins at conception, I believe he will join the majority of the state of Mississippi in voting ‘YES!’ for life.”
View records: http://www.sos.state.ms.us/PDF-Out/000000043920.pdf
Live Action and Personhood USA Release New Sting Operation in Mississippi Before Personhood Vote
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/10/prweb8924956.htm
Personhood USA has received a new video from Yes on 26, featuring Lila Rose and Live Action, chronicling Planned Parenthood’s deception to Mississippi voters.
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Quote startMississippi voters are realizing that voting pro-life means voting for Amendment 26.Quote end
Jackson, MS (PRWEB) October 31, 2011
The new video, starring pro-life hero Lila Rose, unveils the latest sting operation to show Planned Parenthood deception to Mississippi voters.
The video begins with documented evidence that “Mississippians for Healthy Families” is funded and run by various Planned Parenthood organizations across the US; not local Mississippians. Planned Parenthood received nearly $350,000,000 in tax money from the government in 2008 alone.* Planned Parenthood-sponsored ads, under the guise of Mississippians for Healthy Families, claim that Mississippi’s Personhood Amendment 26 will ban IVF, contraception, and birth control. Today, at a press conference featuring Mississippi doctors, the claims were refuted.
Calling attention to the birth control issue, a new video from Live Action released an audio recording in which Planned Parenthood, contrary to their claims in print and on television, admits that birth control will still be available after the November election.
The transcript of the call is as follows:
Planned Parenthood – Hattiesburg, MS
PP: Planned Parenthood, may I help you?
Caller: Oh, hi, I just had a question about the birth control pill and availability.
PP: OK.
Caller: I had heard from Planned Parenthood that the birth control pill wouldn’t be available after the November election. I’m just a little confused, I’m getting mixed messages…
PP: Okay, so far as we know, birth control will still be available.
The new video from Yes on 26 then goes on to play audio from phone calls to other Mississippi healthcare professionals to get a straight answer – including the State Health Department in Jackson, Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center in Meridian, River Oaks Hospital in Flowood, and a pharmacy in Aberdeen. One nurse even laughed at the notion that Amendment 26 would ban birth control.
“Planned Parenthood tried to keep this amendment out of the hands of the people of Mississippi by suing to remove it from the ballot. Now, after several cases of documented deceit on their part, Mississippians for Healthy Families is telling Mississippi voters to trust them. It sounds as if Mississippians for Healthy Families – better known as national affiliates of Planned Parenthood – doesn’t trust the people of Mississippi to vote on this issue, or to deserve the truth,” stated Keith Mason, President of Personhood USA. “As we draw nearer to election time, Mississippi voters are realizing that voting pro-life means voting for Amendment 26. They won’t be distracted by the propaganda put out by Planned Parenthood. Amendment 26 is by the people of Mississippi, for the little people of Mississippi – all people have rights in Mississippi.”
* http://cnsnews.com/news/article/planned-parenthood-got-3496-million-tax-...Live Action Releases New Sting Operation in Mississippi Before Personhood Vote
Jackson, Mississippi -- Personhood USA has received a new video from Yes on 26, featuring Lila Rose and Live Action, chronicling Planned Parenthood’s deception to Mississippi voters.
The new video, starring pro-life hero Lila Rose, unveils the latest sting operation to show Planned Parenthood deception to Mississippi voters.
The video begins with documented evidence that “Mississippians for Healthy Families” is funded and run by various Planned Parenthood organizations across the US; not local Mississippians. Planned Parenthood received nearly $350,000,000 in tax money from the government in 2008 alone. Planned Parenthood-sponsored ads, under the guise of Mississippians for Healthy Families, claim that Mississippi’s Personhood Amendment 26 will ban IVF, contraception, and birth control. Today, at a press conference featuring Mississippi doctors, the claims were refuted.
Calling attention to the birth control issue, a new video from Live Action released an audio recording in which Planned Parenthood, contrary to their claims in print and on television, admits that birth control will still be available after the November election.
The transcript of the call is as follows:
Planned Parenthood – Hattiesburg, MS
PP: Planned Parenthood, may I help you?
Caller: Oh, hi, I just had a question about the birth control pill and availability.
PP: OK.
Caller: I had heard from Planned Parenthood that the birth control pill wouldn’t be available after the November election. I’m just a little confused, I’m getting mixed messages…
PP: Okay, so far as we know, birth control will still be available.
The new video from Yes on 26 then goes on to play audio from phone calls to other Mississippi healthcare professionals to get a straight answer – including the State Health Department in Jackson, Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center in Meridian, River Oaks Hospital in Flowood, and a pharmacy in Aberdeen. One nurse even laughed at the notion that Amendment 26 would ban birth control.
“Planned Parenthood tried to keep this amendment out of the hands of the people of Mississippi by suing to remove it from the ballot. Now, after several cases of documented deceit on their part, Mississippians for Healthy Families is telling Mississippi voters to trust them. It sounds as if Mississippians for Healthy Families – better known as national affiliates of Planned Parenthood – doesn’t trust the people of Mississippi to vote on this issue, or to deserve the truth,” stated Keith Mason, President of Personhood USA. “As we draw nearer to election time, Mississippi voters are realizing that voting pro-life means voting for Amendment 26. They won’t be distracted by the propaganda put out by Planned Parenthood. Amendment 26 is by the people of Mississippi, for the little people of Mississippi - all people have rights in Mississippi.”
Pro-Life Wisconsin Unveils New Personhood Billboard
Green Bay, WI -- Pro-Life Wisconsin and Personhood USA's collaboration on Personhood Wisconsin includes eye-catching new billboard and the state's first Personhood Amendment.
With plans for a Personhood Amendment in the works, Pro-Life Wisconsin is promoting the landmark effort with a new billboard which states, "You. Me. Everybody. We're all just grown up embryos." The billboard is the first of its kind in Wisconsin, designed by the Ireland pro-life powerhouse group Youth Defence.
"Through this billboard, we aim to raise awareness about the humanity of the preborn person and the need for enshrining the right to life in our Wisconsin state constitution. Demonstrating that at one point, all of us were just embryos, the personhood message is one we can all identify with," explained Virginia Zignego, Communications Director of Pro-Life Wisconsin.
The billboard directs viewers to personhoodwisconsin.com which outlines the efforts being made towards a statewide personhood amendment and offers resources and answers to tough questions. The website also includes a video featuring Wisconsin State Representative Andre Jacque who plans to introduce the amendment.
“The Personhood movement is growing rapidly, and we expect great things in Wisconsin,” stated Keith Mason, President of Personhood USA. “Personhood USA is in it to end it, and as we continue to see new personhood amendments and personhood efforts, we are witnessing a historical movement to finally end the destruction of human lives and to protect women and children at all stages of life.”
Pro-Life Wisconsin has announced that the new billboard will rotate among different Green Bay locations. The billboard is a collaborative effort of Pro-Life Wisconsin, 40 Days for Life of Green Bay, Youth Defence, and Personhood USA.
"The personhood movement has tremendous grassroots support in Wisconsin and throughout the country, and we are excited to be able to spread that message even further," stated Zignego on the Pro-Life Wisconsin website.
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.”
Mississippi Personhood Campaign Turns Ugly as Pro-abortion Vandals Destroy, Steal Property
Jackson, Miss. -- Supporters of a Mississippi ballot measure that would amend the state constitution to define the word “person” to include the preborn and recognize the equal rights of every human being are reporting rampant theft and vandalism of campaign signs across the state.
Pelahatchie resident Buddy Hairston relayed that a 4 foot by 6 foot sign at his local church had been knocked over by the vandals. “It took some serious force to bend the metal posts,” he said.
A southern Mississippi gas station was forced to call the police when a woman attempted to destroy a large Yes on 26 campaign sign that had been erected on the property. “She just got out of her car, walked up to it, and started tearing it apart,” reported Personhood Mississippi Director Les Riley. “When police arrived, she told them that she was ‘exercising her First Amendment right to free speech.’
”Pro-life volunteers also took notice of a post on a Facebook page in which an opponent boasts that while she and another person were “leaving Desoto County” they had taken it upon themselves “to take every sign we saw down.”
“We welcome vigorous debate. That's what this country was founded upon. However, theft, vandalism, and intimidation efforts are not acceptable,” stated Riley. “Perhaps, if those who would resort to such tactics would realize there will be consequences, they might not do it.”
On the same Facebook comment thread, an attorney from Chicago replies “That is AWESOME!” and expresses her relief that she is able to vote in Mississippi while residing in Illinois. “I am so glad I vote at home in Mississippi still so I can help get rid of this nonsense,” it reads.
Riley says they group reported the comment to the Voter Fraud Division, but asks that supporters remain vigilant and continue to report all suspected cases of fraud to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office.
“Planned Parenthood and the ACLU’s attempts to have the Mississippi Personhood Amendment removed from the ballot failed, and the pro-abortion proponents are showing signs of desperation,” said Personhood USA President Keith Mason. “They’re realizing that the abortion era is almost over, but our message that every human being is a person, and every person has a right to live, will not be silenced.”
Ohio Reaches First Milestone in Personhood Amendment Drive
Columbus, Ohio -- Personhood Ohio will hold a press conference on Friday morning at the Attorney General’s office in Columbus to announce the submission of the required number of initial petition signatures. The state of Ohio requires that at least 1,000 signatures be verified before the official citizen-led initiative drive can begin. Personhood Ohio is expected to turn in over 2,000 valid initial petition signatures.
The Ohio Personhood Amendment will define the words “person” and “men,” as used in the Ohio Constitution, to “apply to every human being at every stage of the biological development of that human being or human organism, including fertilization” irrespective of one’s age, race, gender, or disability.
“The scientific consensus is that every person’s life began at fertilization. It is not a subjective opinion, rather a verifiable fact,” said Personhood Ohio Director and Zanesville family physician Dr. Patrick Johnston. “The question for the citizens of Ohio is: Are we a people that will recognize and respect the inalienable and equal rights of every person?”
Press Conference Details:
WHO: Personhood Ohio with Dr. Patrick Johnston, Pastor Bill Dunfee from New Beginnings Church of God in Warsaw, Dave Daubenmire of Pass the Salt Ministries in Hebron, and Jason Storms of Missionaries to the Preborn
WHAT: Announcing the completion of the Initial Petition
WHERE: Ohio Attorney General's Office, 30 E Broad St., Columbus, OH
WHEN: Friday, October 14th, 2011, 9:30am
Personhood Ohio’s mission is to ensure equal protection for every preborn child. Their goal is to obey the Lord's command to love "the least of these" through ending the dehumanization and murder of preborn children throughout the state.
For more information contact Dr. Patrick Johnston, 740-453-9173, or visit www.PersonhoodOhio.com.
Supreme Court says “No” to Mexican Roe v. Wade, State Personhood Amendment Upheld
Supreme Court says “No” to Mexican Roe v. Wade, State Personhood Amendment Upheld
Mexico City, Mexico — The Supreme Court of Mexico ruled on Wednesday to uphold the state constitutional personhood amendment of Baja California. A similar decision in the San Luis Potosi case is expected. The Court’s most recent appointee, Justice Jorge Mario Pardo Rebolledo, sided with three members of the Court to reject an Action for Unconstitutionality submitted against the measures. Pardo Rebolledo was appointed last February and had yet to rule in an abortion case. His vote ensures that the Court will not reach the supermajority necessary to overturn the amendment.
“Pardo Rebolledo, as well as Justices Salvador Aguirre, Margarita Luna, and Guillermo Ortiz have our gratitude,” said Personhood USA Legal Analyst Gualberto Garcia Jones, J.D. “Thousands of Mexican girls and boys will, one day, be able to thank them personally for defending their very right to exist.”
In total, eighteen states have passed measures enshrining into law full personhood protections for preborn children. The amendments were passed in reaction to the legalization of abortion in Mexico City in 2009. The state measures received the support of 88% of the members of state legislatures including members of every major political party such as PAN, PRI, and PRD.
On September 19th, 50 nonprofit organizations took out a full-page ad in the largest newspaper in Mexico, El Universal, expressing their concern and opposition to any actions which would overturn the personhood amendments. On September 22nd, three dozen state and federal legislators took out a similar ad in El Universal urging the Mexican Supreme Court to respect the democratic process. Personhood USA joined the organizations, legislators, and millions of Mexican citizens in support of the amendments.
The executive branch of Mexico also weighed in on the developments this week. President Felipe Calderon submitted to the Senate a withdrawal of reservation to the first paragraph of Article 4 of the American Convention on Human Rights. Mexico entered into the treaty in 1981, but interpreted the provision the same year so that it would not oblige the country to protect life from conception.
“Mexico has recognized human rights enshrined in international treaties such as the American Convention of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, among them the right to life, which is protected by our legislation, both federal and local,” read Calderon’s statement. “Mexico endorses a commitment to the right to life as protected by Mexican law.”
First lady Margarita Zavala wrote an editorial this week endorsing the personhood measures. “I am a woman and a lawyer who has fought for the rights of women, and I am convinced that the rights of women do not override other rights and therefore need not be the cause of invalidating the state reforms,” she said.
“Today, the rule of law was victorious in Mexico. Unlike the United States, Mexican states are free from judicial tyranny and the people retain the right of self-determination,” continued Garcia Jones. “The Mexican people recognize that every human being is a person, and that all persons are inherently possessed of the right to life. We commit to work towards the day when this truth is realized for all children in Mexico, the United States, and around the globe.”
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