politics, MS 26

As a rule, I am not one to talk about politics on public forums.

It's not that I don't have opinions - I do.  But I have never felt it necessary to share those opinions with the public at large.  Ask me what I think about something at a cocktail party, and I'll probably tell you.  Post a survey to my facebook wall and you are guaranteed to receive no response. 

But there's an exception to every rule, am I right?  And MS 26 is officially my exception.  Here's the summary:  "Initiative #26 would amend the Mississippi Constitution to define the word 'person' or 'persons', as those terms are used in Article III of the state constitution, to include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof."

Oh...dear.

Sure, on first glance this may appear to be about abortion. But notice that the language does not specify abortion at all.   The consequences of this initiative - specifically, the effects on birth control pills, IVF, IUDs, ectopic pregnancies....go on and on and on.   And please do not get me started on the awful reality that with the passing of this initiative, mothers that have miscarried could be investigated as attempted murderers.  I can't even think about my dear friends that have lost children being visited by law enforcement without my head threatening to explode.  

So...y'all read about this one before you vote, okay?  Make sure you know exactly what the law will say and how it might impact the women (and, indirectly, the men) that you care about.