The Personhood Amendment in Mississippi intrigues me as to the legal ramifications of such an Amendment. So, I compiled a list in honor of the 23 pairs of chromosomes these future people have of such questions.
1. If an entire family dies, and their only heirs are the embryos left in a cryogenic lab, does all their money go to their heir embryo into keeping it alive?
2. Can the embryo then use that money to seek a uterus and hire its own surrogate mother in order to preserve its life?
3. If a family has created an embryo, but then does not have the money to keep it alive in a cryogenic lab, could this be considered child abandonment?
4. How exactly would people fill out censuses? Would there be a box for embryo people?
5. If embryos indeed are people, can a carpool lane be used?
6. If a woman goes to a restaurant and is pregnant with 7 children, would it be wrong for a restaurant to charge her a 15% tip since her party is over 8?
7. How would maximum occupancy laws be forced to change?
8. If a person left a state where an embryo was a person, could it be considered murder, since once they left state lines the embryo would no longer have the legal rights it would in its homestate?
9. What if a woman was driving through a state that had an embryo law and had taken the morning after pill? Would the police have the right to search her car and attempt to stop the embryo from dying?
10. Would condoms be considered a new form of weapon against the unborn and would conceal to carry laws apply to them?
11. If a fertility clinic was burnt down, would it be considered genocide?
12. Would a state be allowed to declare a federal disaster if a fertility clinic was hit by a tornado/earthquake/hurricane and get more FEMA money because of it?
13. How would electoral votes work if embryos were people? Would a state be allowed to have more based on the number of embryos?
14. If a mother wasn’t completely healthy at the start of a pregnancy, could an embryo sue and claim it was being put in a hostile environment?
15. Could multiple pregnancies be seen as a charge for manslaughter, since embryos are less likely to make it when other embryos are put in a womb?
16. Could an embryo retire at 50 if the retirement age was still 65(ha!) if they were in the lab for 15 years before implantation?
17. Since every embryo has the chance to become twins, would people be charged with double homicide for every embryo lost?
18. In child custody cases, would the parent who has the most money to keep the embryo financially stable and healthy be allowed to take custody of the embryo?
19. If a mother in a custody case goes sterile, or doesn’t have the ability to give birth anymore, would she lose the right to that embryo to the other parent if they had a spouse who could give birth or they could give birth themselves?
20. Would it be considered gender discrimination if a parent were to only select embryos that were likely to end up male or female?
21. Would sushi and other harmful foods for embryos be banned for fear of endangering the lives of embryos, because of the potential for mercury poisoning?
22. Would all cats be killed because toxoplasmosis can harm embryos?
23. Would alcohol be once again prohibited, along coffee, hot tubs, and all other sorts of minor indulgences?
I think all these questions and more have to considered before making embryos people. Good luck on that Ballot Proposition Mississippi!