'Personhood' Amendments Mark New Tactic for Abortion-Rights Opponents

October 26, 2011 — Some abortion-rights opponents are pushing statewide referendums on measures that would define fertilized eggs as people with constitutional rights, thus outlawing abortion, some forms of birth control and lab procedures involving the destruction of embryos, the New York Times reports. Proponents of so-called "personhood" amendments "hope to reshape the national debate" about abortion with the new strategy, according to the Times.

Voters in Mississippi will consider a personhood amendment on Nov. 8, when the state also will vote for a new governor. The amendment, which has been endorsed by gubernatorial candidates from both parties, appears likely to pass, according to Martin Wiseman, director of the John C. Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University. Groups are pushing similar amendments in about six other states.

Opponents of the Mississippi measure warn that it could ban some birth control methods, such as intrauterine devices and emergency contraception, that may be able to block a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. They also say the amendment could affect in vitro fertilization procedures and make physicians wary of helping women with life-threatening pregnancies.

Personhood amendments have divided antiabortion-rights groups, with some leaders refusing to promote them. Some conservative Christian groups, including the American Family Association and the Family Research Council, support the strategy, but National Right to Life and Catholic bishops say the tactic could be counterproductive if it leads to a Supreme Court ruling that undermines efforts to dismantle Roe v. Wade (Eckholm, New York Times, 10/25).