Victory in Mississippi: Personhood Amendment Defeated!

A win is a win is a win.

Yes, of course there is an argument as to why it shouldn’t have gotten this far and perhaps that the U.S. House of Representatives will try more shenanigans in the future nationally but the Mississippi personhood amendment went down last night!

This is a big victory for women’s rights. And any victory should be celebrated especially when a week ago there was a real fear that it would pass.

Via Talking Points Memo:

Voters on Tuesday rejected ballot Initiative 26, which would have defined personhood as beginning at fertilization. With 63% of the vote reporting, the ‘No’ position is leading by a margin of 57%-43%, and has been projected as the winner by the Associated Press.

[…]

However, even in this very conservative and religious state, the ‘No’ campaign successfully mobilized against it by explaining to voters what such a law would mean if actually put into practice. For example, the proposal made no exceptions for abortion in the sensitive situations of rape or incest.

And what was more, such a law would have forbidden medically necessary abortions even in cases where a fetus could not be viable, and where a woman’s life would be at risk. The ‘No’ campaign successfully highlighted the example of an ectopic pregnancy, a condition where an embryo implants in the fallopian tubes rather than the uterus — resulting in a pregnancy that will not only fail to develop into a viable baby, but if left untreated will result in the woman’s death.

The law was so severe that we were able to take advantage of a larger group of voters and supporters than with other reproductive rights battles. I think that this can perhaps serve as a framework for future battles that are sure to come.