On November 8, Mississippians will vote by referendum on Initiative 26, or the “Personhood Amendment,” aimed at redefining the moment that a “person” has full rights as a “person”–eloquent way to put it I know–essentially establishing the moment at fertilization (though this is murky in itself). While I’m not currently living in Mississippi, I feel like it is a second home since I lived there longer than any place besides Tennessee (where my family is from and currently lives). Who knows, I might even live there again someday. Sadly, I can’t vote on this one.
From close friends and Facebook “friends” still in Mississippi, I’ve heard plenty about the Initiative, mostly very negative. From my perspective, it’s extremely confusing and all that seems clear to me is that I would vote against it. In my view, any initiative that threatens implications for in vitro fertilization or certain types of birth control is not even worth considering. Since I’ve already proved here that I’m neither qualified nor articulate enough to fully inform anyone or argue constructively, I’ll just share the following link to several articles written by professors at the Mississippi College Law School. I recommend them to anyone who is registered to vote in Mississippi, and also to those of you like me who care a great deal about the future of the state.
The Scarlett Letter 