Contact: Keith Mason, Personhood USA
Planned Parenthood and the ACLU have filed an appeal to the State Supreme Court against Mississippi's Personhood Amendment, Amendment 26, despite numerous rulings against them.
In July of 2010, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU filed suit to disallow Mississippi voters from voting on the Mississippi Personhood Amendment. In October, the lawsuit was rejected. The Court decision read "Initiative Measure No. 26 has received more than the required amount of signatures to be placed on the ballot and the Constitution recognizes the right of citizens to amend their Constitution."
Now Planned Parenthood and the ACLU have appealed to the State Supreme Court, a decision made especially conspicuous by Planned Parenthood's recent refusal to challenge various "Fetal Pain" bills. According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, one abortion in 2010 would have been prevented by the Fetal Pain bill. By contrast, Mississippi's Personhood Amendment 26 would make all abortion illegal by recognizing the personhood rights, first and foremost the constitutional right to life of all children, born and preborn.
This is not the first time that the ACLU and Planned Parenthood have tried to stop Personhood USA -- numerous lawsuits have been filed, albeit largely unsuccessfully, in an attempt to stop Personhood USA and its state affiliates.
"Of course we expect Planned Parenthood and the ACLU to continue their unholy alliance in attacking personhood bills and amendments," explained Keith Mason, cofounder of Personhood USA. "They are terrified that abortion will be made illegal. Planned Parenthood, with the help of the ACLU, is fighting for their 'right' to kill children for profit."
Personhood Amendment 26 states, "The term 'person' or 'persons' shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof."
"Personhood Amendments and bills nationwide merely recognize that all human beings are people," continued Mason. "Recognizing that all human beings have rights is a sentiment the ACLU should be fighting FOR, not against. Instead, the ACLU has teamed up with Planned Parenthood to ensure that Planned Parenthood's deep pockets are protected. It is outrageous that the billion dollar abortion industry's bottom line is more important to them than over one million innocent human lives taken every year by abortion."
Personhood USA's amendments and bills recognize that every human being is a person, and every person has a right to life. Personhood amendments and bills protect every child, no matter their size or age.