Another Daily Kos member, Jestbill, made me aware of the latest and greatest pro-life craze(y): The Personhood Movement. I don't know how it slipped under my radar for so long...wait, yes I do, for the same reason I don't know what skinheads are up to, or the klan, or fifth column nazi scientists. Not because I don't care, but because I cannot stand to read that stuff much less research it. In this case, I will make an exception because it ties into the Stupak-Pitts amendment, which is disgusting, and is another brick in the very tall wall of female oppression, also disgusting. Sorry, ladies, apparently God and his ilk really have it in for you.
I will give the religious right credit, much like the cockroach, they have an amazing arsenal for survival at their disposal. Just when you think it's safe to teach Evolution...BAM! Creationism becomes a "science". Just when you think Roe v. Wade has become the accepted norm...BAM! A group that is 'exploding in 32 states' wants to declare the fetus a living person with all rights afforded in the constitution.
Gualberto Garcia Jones is director of Personhood Colorado and a legal analyst for Personhood USA, a grassroots Christian organization that seeks to legally define every unborn baby as a "person" protected by God-given and constitutionally protected rights, including the right to life..."We're trying to end abortion right now," Garcia Jones told WND. "All of our laws that we're promoting are direct challenges to Roe v. Wade. If we can get a challenge up to the Supreme Court, then that's the ideal thing. That's what we're trying to do."
That is impressive. I mean really, really smart thinking. Way better than my pro-choice plan of declaring all fetuses rocks until the 3rd trimester.
"We believe – and a lot of the justices on the Supreme Court agree with us – that there is no right to privacy that would allow abortion," Garcia Jones said. "Since it's not mentioned directly in the 14th Amendment, we could use the 10th Amendment and the states' rights to police themselves and to pass laws regulating morality and health and safety to regulate abortion so it's not permitted. Basically it would be treated the same way as a homicide, where a state can regulate how they punish it and how they try to prevent it, but they could never allow it."
He continued, "We believe respect for life is in the Constitution, so therefore a state could never say you can kill a person."
Absolutely, the State could never say you can kill a person...which explains the rarely mentioned Duggleheimer v. Pemberton case which established in all 50 states that every single death row inmate (even the innocent ones) are actually amazingly realistic robots and if an American can't kill an amazingly realistic robot, well, I don't know what Ben Franklin fought and died for at the Alamo.
"It's taken off so much that we're having trouble keeping up with it," he said. "Colorado, Montana, Missouri, Mississippi and California are all in the process of getting signatures."
The Los Angeles Times reported Sept. 28 that while personhood measures failed in Montana and North Dakota legislatures earlier this year, "the close votes alarmed supporters of legal abortion."
According to WND columnist Jill Stanek, pro-life legislators in Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana and Texas have also signaled their intent to introduce personhood statutes.
I don't believe the close votes alarmed supporters of legal abortion for the reasons you think, Mr. Gualberto Garcia Jones. Me? I'm alarmed at the idea of a fetus being declared a person as an end run around Roe v. Wade because what happens to citizenship laws? A vacationing German couple gets randy at Disneyland and 9 months later they give birth to a little American? Like all things Republicans and their religious masters attempt, this will only turn out badly.
Consider, if the fetus is a person, and the woman has a miscarriage, wouldn't that be manslaughter? If the woman snuck a cup of coffee, or had bad eating habits, or went jogging, or whatever, wouldn't those become criminal acts? And you KNOW that Republicans would love to try women for working too many hours while pregnant. I know, I know, you're thinking, "Archie, come on now, that's a slippery slope, there's no way the Republicans and the religious right would go that far." Maybe you're right, but I recall complaining about the Patriot Act saying, "It's like 1984, Bush is going to use this thing to spy on regular Americans!" And all my friends said I was crazy and that the President of the United States wouldn't do that. "He's the President for cryin' out loud." And we all know how that turned out. Besides, it's not like Republicans use ridiculous arguments to fight against Democratic proposals (death panels anyone?). No, this is a movement that cannot be allowed to gain any traction, because it has that perfect blend of "What? They're people, aren't they?" that makes the average, everyday, non-thinker go, "Yeah, I guess they are." and "Heh heh heh, another foot in the door to quash a woman's right to do anything while pregnant and eventually, to do anything at all!"
When I think of the Religious Right, I can't help but picture a man standing over me dressed like The Pope, but in all black, and he's twirling his giant handle bar mustache and repeating, "Remember Jesus loves you, Remember Jesus loves you." And me? I'm tied to the train tracks and the rumble is getting louder and louder.
Since I'm all about using political aikido (which is using Republicans own arguments against them) here is my prepared response should I ever find myself embroiled in a personhood argument.
"So, you think fetuses are entitled to the same rights afforded people in the constitution specifically in the 14th amendment? Basically, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Okay, well, speaking as a citizen of the United States, I would consider being locked up in a small wet closet for 9 months a violation of my liberty and would demand that you LET ME OUT by any means necessary."
Here is a link to the entire article, thanks for visiting my diary. WorldNetDaily "Matters of Life and Death"