If at First You Don’t Succeed at Making Zygotes People, Try Again

If at First You Don’t Succeed at Making Zygotes People, Try Again:

Undeterred by Mississippi’s failed attempt to grant fertilized eggs the same rights as adult humans, anti-abortion rights advocates in Colorado and Virginia signaled Monday that intend to bring the effort to their states.

In Virginia, Delegate Bob Marshall (R) filed legislation that would amend the state constitution to declare that the “life of each human being begins at conception” and would grant all rights of Virginia citizenship to those “unborn children.” Unlike Mississippi’s measure, this bill specifically excludes “lawful assisted conception”—apparently embyros created for assisted reproduction aren’t people. The proposal also states that there should be no action taken against a woman “for indirectly harming her unborn child by failing to properly care for herself or by failing to follow any particular program of prenatal care.” The legislative language doesn’t mention birth control, abortions to protect the life or health of the mother, or abortions in the case of rape or incest—all of which would likely be affected by this kind of law.

Colorado’s attempt comes in the form of a ballot initiative from Personhood Colorado—the same group that led two previous failed ballot measures in the state, in 2008 and 2010. This time, they’re making it clear that they are also going after birth control and assisted reproduction.

[motherjones.com Kate Sheppard Nov. 22, 2011]