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Personhood Amendments
Affirmation of personhood rights on the march
Cal Zastrow, who heads Michigan Citizens for Life, notes that the campaign in his state has crossed political boundaries. "Five [Democratic] state representatives led by Jim Slezack [have] joined with 18 Republican co-sponsors to introduce the Michigan Personhood Amendment into the state legislature," he exclaims.
The process in Michigan requires the legislature to approve an issue for the ballot. Zastrow describes what voters will be asked to decide.
"It'll define a person as a human being at the moment of their biological beginning," he says. "So we've got 23 state reps who are committed to ending abortion and ending embryonic stem-cell research and cloning."
So far, Personhood Amendment campaigns are active in about 30 states. At least three more should kick into gear by the end of the year, and a number of campaigns will be launched in other states in 2010.
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Nevada Launches Personhood Initiative
Another personhood amendment initiative entered the signature-gathering stage on Wednesday after being filed by a pro-life coalition in Nevada. The proposed amendment would change the Nevada constitution to read: "In the great state of Nevada, the term 'person' applies to every human being. Article I Section 8 of the Nevada constitution states, 'No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.'"
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Personhood Educates Millions of Coloradans
Submitted by Gualberto Garci... on Mon, 09/28/2009 - 21:00 Here is a collection of coverage simply from the launch of the 2010 Colorado Personhood Initiative. As we continue our petition efforts, remember: the victory is ours, because we know the Way, the Truth, and the Light, and we are carrying it to our brothers and sisters as we are called to do.
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Abortion Would Be Outlawed Under Proposed Michigan Constitutional Amendment
Abortion would be considered murder under a state constitutional amendment proposed by a Davison-area state lawmaker. The "personhood amendment" -- introduced by Rep. Jim Slezak, D-Davison Township -- would essentially outlaw abortion and possibly some common birth control methods by defining a person as a human being whose life begins at conception. A resolution in support of the amendment was introduced by Slezak last week, as first reported by The Journal on Monday, making Michigan one of 30 states considering such an initiative.
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Feminist Organization Pushes Campaign Against Pregnancy Clinics
A feminist organization is trying to warn students about two pregnancy clinics near campus it says misinform women, but the clinics insist they are truthful with their clients. The Feminist Majority Foundation's "Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics" is an effort against crisis pregnancy centers that give women inaccurate information about abortion. The closest center to campus is the Northwest Center, located near Dupont Circle, but another clinic is located on Capitol Hill. Jacqueline Sun, a campus organizer for FMF - a nonprofit organization that raises awareness on feminist issues - said the campaign' goal is to have students be able to discern between a real crisis pregnancy center and a fake clinic, which she said would give clinic-goers inaccurate information about abortion.
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FEC Won't Appeal EMILY’s List Ruling
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced Thursday it would not appeal a court ruling vacating key regulations regarding funding certain election activities. The decision not to appeal to an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals means independent political organizations will be able to raise and spend significantly more money on voter registration drives and advertisements that refer to political parties. A Sept. 18 Appeals Court ruling vacated three FEC regulations it said violated the First Amendment by prohibiting political speech. Those regulations required political committees not affiliated with a party or a specific candidate to use federal funds, which are severely limited, for many campaign activities. The suit was originally brought by EMILY’s List, the organization that backs pro-abortion Democrat women running for office.
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Using contraception to fight poverty is the result of 'unbridled capitalism'
Archbishop Juan Ruben Martinez of Posadas in northern Argentina remarked this week that groups which seek to solve the issue of poverty by the use of contraception reflect a “sort of ‘selfish and unbridled capitalism’” that does not address the crux of the problem.
According to the AICA news agency, Archbishop Martinez warned that such groups “control large media outlets and denigrate the family. He added, that “amazingly, these groups absurdly portray themselves as ‘progressive’ and ‘modern,’ when in reality they reflect the worst of capitalism.”
This “contradiction and hypocrisy of our present-day culture” is in addition to the pressure from many lawmakers and legislatures that support anti-life laws and pro-abortion positions that harm the family.
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Okla. District Judge Temporarily Blocks Law Requiring Personal Information About Women Seeking Abortions
Oklahoma District Judge Twyla Mason Gray has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the enforcement of a state law requiring abortion providers to report personal information on women who obtain the procedure, the Tulsa World reports. The law was scheduled to go into effect on Nov. 1 (Hoberock, Tulsa World, 10/21).
The law requires doctors to report to the state a woman's age, marital status, education level and the nature of the relationship with her partner (Women's Health Policy Report, 10/1). It also requires information regarding previous pregnancies, reasons the woman is seeking an abortion, and the cost and method of payment for the procedure.
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Abortion Corruption Concerns Deepen as Confer Resigns from KSBHA
Will Women and Babies Pay the Price?
It was confirmed yesterday that Jack Confer, Executive Director of the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts resigned unexpectedly and without explanation on Monday, October 19, 2009. Circumstances suggest that Confer's resignation may have been related to abortion cases that were before the KSBHA.
"We are sorry to see Mr. Confer go. He seemed to us to be a fair man that was above the corrupt abortion politics in Kansas. He will be deeply missed," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
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