Tag Archives: Group: Personhood USA

Christian Newswire: Today, Mississippi resident and post abortive mother Anne Reed filed a Life at Conception Citizen’s Initiative, which states: “The right to life begins at conception. All human beings, at every stage of development, are unique, created in God’s image and shall have equal rights as persons under the law.”

enowned medical experts and researchers will discuss groundbreaking findings on the most important factors in saving the lives of mothers in childbirth at a policy briefing and press conference Wednesday

Life News / C-Fam: “The problem we are facing with the work of treaty bodies goes beyond resources and money,” the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) told the forum. “The real problem lies in the treaty bodies assuming powers which do not belong to them.”

PR Newswire on Sacramento Bee: A medical symposium in Ireland has determined that abortion is not necessary to save the mother’s life in any circumstance; debunking one of the most common arguments against personhood abortion bans in the U.S.

Denver Post: The Colorado secretary of state’s office said Tuesday the proposed anti-abortion “personhood” amendment will not be on the 2012 ballot — no matter the outcome of proponents’ planned legal action to prove they collected enough voter signatures.
The ballot certification deadline was Monday.

PR Newswire on the Sacramento Bee: Personhood Colorado submitted signatures to the Secretary of State’s office today for the Colorado Personhood Amendment. The signatures submitted totaled 112,121, although only 86,105 were required.

Liberty Counsel: Today, Liberty Counsel filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision removing a proposed Personhood citizen-initiative from the ballot.

Washington Post (AP): The group had only collected about 30,000 of the roughly 385,000 signatures required for November ballots, Patrick Johnston, the director of Personhood Ohio, said Tuesday.

LifeSiteNews: A Colorado state senator has joined national pro-life groups condemning the attack on Personhood founder Keith Mason’s Denver home, where his four young children were terrorized by a vandal shattering the family’s front door with a 45-pound rock in the middle of the night.

LifeSiteNews: Another pro-lifer was attacked last Tuesday, but this time at his home, with his wife and children terrorized in the middle of the night. Personhood USA Founder and President Keith Mason and his wife Jennifer have three young children from eight years old on down, and a fourth child due next month.

The Daily Beast: Keith Mason and his wife are leading a growing national campaign to legally define human embryos as people, which would outlaw abortion—and possibly some forms of birth control, opponents say. In an exclusive interview, he tells Abigail Pesta about his ambitious plans for 2012′s election season.

Fox News (AP): With less than two weeks before a crucial July deadline, the group’s director says it has close to 20,000, or 5 percent, of the roughly 385,000 signatures required for the proposed personhood constitutional amendment to appear on November ballots.

Personhood USA: Georgia Right to Life President Dan Becker today announced that Republican voters in all 159 GA counties will have the opportunity to approve granting “personhood” status to all human beings from their earliest biological beginning. The ballot question will appear on the July 31st Republican primary ballot.

Christian Newswire: Steve Crampton, Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel for Liberty Counsel, who represents Personhood Oklahoma, said: “This ruling epitomizes judicial overreaching. It not only misinterprets and misapplies federal constitutional law, but it also denies states’ rights and strips Oklahomans of their right to petition for a substantive change in state law, which is guaranteed under the state constitution. We are hopeful that the United States Supreme Court will reverse this decision.”

Personhood USA at the Christian Newswire: “We are not surprised that there are a few Republicans such as Representative Doug Cox and House Speaker Steele, who wish to suppress life-affirming and pro-family legislation such as the Personhood Act,” commented Keith Mason, Personhood USA President. “However, it is surprising that these Republicans can be allowed to do everything in their power to kill a bill and then blame the entire Republican caucus. It is not too late – truly pro-life Oklahoma Representatives can still call for a vote and pass SB 1433.”

Las Vegas Sun: Organizers of one of two competing anti-abortion petitions decided Tuesday to pull their initiative, hoping to present a united front behind the so-called personhood initiative being circulated for signatures now.

Personhood USA: The Colorado Personhood Coalition will host three separate press conferences throughout the state on Wednesday and Thursday to announce the launch of the 2012 Colorado personhood petition drive.

Personhood USA: Personhood Colorado has been notified that Planned Parenthood has lost their lawsuit to keep the Personhood amendment off of the 2012 ballot, and the amendment is set to move forward.

Liberty Counsel announced today a new partnership with the pro-life organization, Personhood USA. This partnership will enable both Liberty Counsel and Personhood USA to be more effective in advocating for the passage of personhood legislation and state initiatives for constitutional amendments in states across the country.

Personhood USA: Personhood Arkansas has resubmitted a state constitutional amendment that would guarantee the right to life of all human beings

Personhood USA: lanned Parenthood filed an appeal on Monday, challenging a ruling from the Colorado Secretary of State Title Board in favor of Personhood Colorado. The 2-1 decision from the board allows a proposed state constitutional amendment, applying the right to life equally to human beings of every age, to proceed to petition.

Christian Newswire: Personhood Florida received a major endorsement this week from Family Research Council’s (FRC) Tony Perkins. Similar to the Personhood Amendment recently on the ballot in Mississippi, the Florida Amendment bans all abortion.

CNSnews.com: Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) recently became the fifth Republican presidential hopeful to sign a pledge saying that life begins at conception and ends at natural death.

OneNewsNow.com: Personhood Arkansas has been blocked by the state attorney general’s office in its effort to take a proposed constitutional amendment to voters.

USATODAY.com: The blistering fight over whether Mississippi law should define life at conception is expected to continue this year by way of the Legislature.

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Title Board voted Wednesday night allowing Personhood Colorado’s proposed personhood amendment to proceed.

Judge James E. Wilson granted an injunction to stop a group called Personhood Nevada from going forward with its initiative petition, the so-called personhood amendment. Wilson said he expects his ruling to be appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court.

The Republic: An Ohio anti-abortion group has refiled paperwork with the state in its effort to amend the Ohio Constitution to declare that life begins when a human egg is fertilized.

Arkansas News: A group pushing for an amendment to the state constitution that would ban abortion in Arkansas says it has submitted proposed ballot language to the state attorney general. If Attorney General Dustin McDaniel approves the language, the group Personhood Arkansas would have until July 6 to collect 78,133 signatures to place the measure on the November 2012 ballot.

A district judge today ruled against pro-choice advocates seeking to stop an initiative petition that proposes to outlaw abortion by declaring that life begins at conception.

Cleveland Plain Dealer: The effort, while still in the preliminary stages, has in-vitro fertilization doctors and abortion-rights groups digging in for a fig

Christian Newswire: Following the defeat of Personhood Amendment 26, Personhood Mississippi commissioned a post-election poll to determine what factors influenced voters. Surprisingly, the poll determined that only 8% of those who voted “no” did so because they are pro-choice.

The Denver Post: Denver-based anti-abortion group that sponsored an unsuccessful personhood amendment in Mississippi — declaring fertilization the starting point of life — is mobilizing again to push a fortified measure in Colorado, Oregon and Montana.

Abortion is the greatest injustice of our day . . .

LifeSiteNews.com: The national movement to constitutionally define an unborn baby as a person is now gaining traction in Arkansas, and may appear on the November 2012 ballot.

St. Petersburg Times: Personhood USA, the Colorado group behind the Mississippi ballot question, has been collecting petition signatures to bring a similar proposal to Florida. But Florida election laws already have dashed the hopes of the group to have the measure appear on a statewide ballot next year.

LifeSiteNews.com: A constitutional referendum in Mississippi to declare all unborn children persons, which has the potential to permanently impact the national abortion debate, is on its way to become the first successful referendum of its kind in America, according to pro-life leaders.

Personhood USA: The question of when life begins may be given needed clarity this November as voters in Mississippi are asked to render judgment on an initiative that would define “personhood.”

American Civil Liberties Union: A group of registered Nevada voters today filed the first of two lawsuits this week challenging two proposed ballot initiatives that could ban vital health services by granting legal protections to fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses. | Related Personhood USA press release

Personhood USA: Mississippi’s top attorney has endorsed the Mississippi Personhood Amendment and announced his intention to defend the measure in court.

Personhood USA: Personhood USA has released a new video documenting the infamous Roe vs. Wade court case that legalized abortion in the United States. Relevant to today’s battle for human life, the video illustrates the need to recognize unborn children as people. The video includes actual audio from the court case in which Justice Potter Stewart states, “And the basic Constitutional question, initially, is whether or not an unborn fetus is a person, isn’t it? That’s critical to this case.”

Amendment 26 will be on the November ballot as the State Supreme Court ruled today to dismiss the plaintiff’s case!

OneNewsNow.com: Leaders of the personhood movement are taking issue with a statement made by presidential candidate Mitt Romney at the Labor Day forum in South Carolina.

The New Republic: 2011 has been a banner year for abortion opponents. Thus far, 87 state laws restricting abortion have been enacted, the most in any year since Roe v. Wade and more than double the previous high. But one rogue wing of the pro-life movement sees no reason to celebrate: the budding “personhood movement,” which wants to turn abortion into homicide by methodically amending state constitutions to define conception as the beginning of a person’s life.

Houston Chronicle: An Ohio group is gathering signatures in an effort to add an abortion ban to the state’s constitution. Personhood Ohio wants to put the issue before voters in 2012.

Stateline: Mississippi is among just a handful of states to hold elections this year, and among the items on its ballot will be one that defines “person” to include every human being from the moment of fertilization. If approved, supporters say the measure would criminalize all abortion, including those applying to cases of rape or incest.

Personhood USA: Danish newspaper Berlingske is reporting‏ that an analysis of the country’s abortion rate indicates that the last child with Down syndrome could be born around the year 2030. 61 babies were born with the genetic disease in 2004 when the government of Denmark began offering screenings through the socialized health program. The following year, the number was less than half of that. Today, 99 of 100 children with Down syndrome are aborted in the European nation.

Abortion Foes Push To Redefine Personhood : NPR (includes audio): The question being raised in legal terms is: When does someone become a person?

Christian Newswire: The Foundation for Moral Law and Personhood Alabama have announced personhood bills and amendments in the House and the Senate, backed by a large number of supporters. SB301 is a clear recognition of the personhood rights of all human beings, regardless of their age, size, or location.

LifeSiteNews: “Personhood bills and amendments are gaining notice and approval across the United States, with a one such bill having passed the House in North Dakota and another the Iowa House subcommittee. Georgia, Montana, Texas, and Oklahoma have also introduced personhood legislation, reports Personhood USA.”

Christian Newswire: “Confirming that the protection of every human being is within reach, The Defense of Human Life Act, HB 1450, has passed in the North Dakota House with an overwhelming majority of 68 – 25.”

LifeSiteNews: “Personhood USA, a national pro-life organization dedicated to achieving legal recognition of the personhood rights of all human beings, including the unborn, has announced that it has achieved its goal of having personhood efforts underway in all 50 states.”

KUNC / NPR: “The measure failed on a 3 to one margin, much like a similar measure did in 2008.” Ballotpedia: Colorado Fetal Personhood, Amendment 62 (2010)

Liberty Counsel: “Today Judge Malcolm Harrison ruled in state circuit court that Personhood Mississippi can be on the state’s ballot in the November 2011 election. This lawsuit was filed by the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and the Center for Reproductive Rights, seeking to keep Initiative 26 off the ballot, in spite of the fact that it received more than the required number of signatures.” | Ballotpedia: Mississippi Life Begins at the Moment of Fertilization Initiative (2011)

OneNewsNow: “The constitutional amendment, which is supposed to be on the state ballot in November 2011, would call for recognizing that human life begins at fertilization . . . The presiding judge has taken the arguments and briefs under advisement and will issue an opinion soon.” | Ballotpedia: Mississippi Life Begins at the Moment of Fertilization Initiative (2011)

LifeNews: “A new poll of Colorado voters shows the personhood amendment, Amendment 62, likely losing by another large margin in November. The amendment defines unborn children as persons starting at conception and would draw an almost immediate legal challenge from pro-abortion groups.” Ballotpedia: Colorado Fetal Personhood, Amendment 62 (2010)

KKTV (AP): “On Monday a group of faith leaders is meeting with reporters to show that not all faith leaders support the so-called ‘personhood’ amendment, which is on Colorado ballots next month.”

ChristianNewsWire: “Today Judge Hyatt decided to dismiss the lawsuit filed against the Colorado Blue Book by the sponsors of Amendment 62, claiming that the court has no jurisdiction over the Colorado Legislative Council.” Related: Personhood Amendment 62 files suit to stop distribution of biased “Colorado Blue Book”

ChristianNewsWire: “Amendment 62 sponsors filed a lawsuit today against the Colorado Legislative Counsel, attempting to stop the continued publication and statewide distribution of the ‘Colorado Blue Book’ . . . Amendment 62 sponsors and organizers maintain that the ballot information booklet (The Colorado Blue Book), is not fair or impartial, but in fact glaringly biased against Amendment 62. Sponsors attempted several times to change the prejudiced text, in writing and at the public hearing, yet none of their objections were recognized.” Ballotpedia: Colorado Fetal Personhood, Amendment 62 (2010)

ChristianNewsWire: “Colorado Statesman reporters brought a recent meeting of the Secretary of State’s ‘Best Practices & Vision Commission’ to the attention of Amendment 62 sponsors today. According to The Statesman, commission members discussed an unnamed recent initiative and the ‘possibility’ that signatures may have been illegally duplicated to qualify for the ballot during the 15 day curing period. It was decided that a bill will be introduced to eliminate the curing period altogether.”

ChristianNewsWire: “Pro-life advocates from ten states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin gathered in Wichita, Kansas last Saturday, September 11th for the Midwest Personhood Pro-life Conference.”

Greeley Tribune: “The bad news for Planned Parenthood, the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), and their allies is that personhood proponents recently turned in more than 126,000 signatures to put the measure back on the ballot, this time as Amendment 62. Even worse for abortion proponents, since beginning in Colorado in 2008, 40 states have started personhood drives. Personhood isn’t just an amendment; it’s a movement.”

LifeSiteNews: “Planned Parenthood and pro-abortion medical practitioners this week kicked off a campaign to snuff out the Colorado Personhood initiative, which aims to extend personhood to all human beings from the beginning of their biological development, as it heads to voters in November.”

Earned Media: “Personhood Colorado and Colorado Right to Life, co-sponsors of Colorado’s Personhood Amendment 62, have discovered that their only opposition, ‘Protect Families Protect Choices’, is backed by none other than abortion profiteer Planned Parenthood . . . ‘Our opposition is relying on scare tactics to frighten voters,’ explained Leslie Hanks, co-sponsor of Amendment 62. ‘For example, NARAL’s claims about miscarriages and ectopic pregnancy are patently false.’”

Personhood Mississippi: “Liberty Counsel will file a motion to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU and Planned Parenthood in Hinds County, Mississippi Circuit Court today on behalf of Les Riley and Personhood Mississippi to prevent the voices of over 130,000 Mississippi voters from being silenced.” | Ballotpedia: Mississippi Life Begins at the Moment of Fertilization Initiative (2011)

Christian Newswire: “A new West Virginia prolife organization, PersonhoodWV, is springing to life in West Virginia this week. PersonhoodWV will hold their first meeting in Hampshire County, with PersonhoodUSA co-founder Cal Zastrow introducing the mission of the statewide personhood amendment and answering questions. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 27th at 5:30 pm at the Augusta Church of Christ on Route 50 . . . ”

ChristianNewsWire: “Colorado’s Personhood Amendment 62, sponsored by Colorado Right to Life and Personhood Colorado, has announced their strategy to promote the life-affirming Personhood Amendment 62 . . . The official 62 campaign strategy includes the groundbreaking website, mycampaigntracker.org, which was designed to capitalize on the grassroots personhood movement in Colorado, and will be utilized to saturate the state with grassroots activity through November’s election.” | Colorado Fetal Personhood, Amendment 62 (2010) on Ballotpedia

ChristianNewsWire: “In all 46 counties where the amendment was presented, it passed overwhelmingly by an amazing 75%! Georgia is the first state in the nation where voters have said ‘Yes’ to the Personhood question.”

Personhood USA: “The Montana Personhood Amendment Initiative CI-102 volunteers received news yesterday that they were just 6,000 signatures short of the required 48,674 signatures to put Personhood on the 2010 ballot.”

Personhood Mississippi: Personhood Mississippi responds to lawsuit against right to life and right to vote in Mississippi
ACLU and Planned Parenthood attorneys have filed an injunction against the Mississippi Secretary of State, seeking to disallow Mississippi voters from voting on the Mississippi Personhood Amendment. Amendment sponsors and volunteers exceeded state signature requirements on February 17, becoming only the fourth successful ballot initiative since 1992. The one-sentence amendment reads, “The term ‘person’ or ‘persons’ shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof.”

Las Vegas Review-Journal: “A national leader of the Personhood-USA movement said Thursday the group won’t be able to collect the required number of signatures by Tuesday’s deadline. The proposed constitutional amendment would halt abortions in Nevada.” | Ballotpedia: Nevada Personhood Amendment (2012)

LifeNews: “Supporters of a personhood amendment are trying a second time to get a measure to define unborn children as people starting at conception on the ballot in Montana. Should they obtain a November vote and Montana residents support it, the measure would challenge legal abortions and head for an immediate court battle.”

LifeNews: “The personhood amendment has failed to qualify for the November ballot in another state. One week after California organizers announced the didn’t get enough signatures, backers of the amendment in Missouri indicated they did not receive enough as well.” | Ballotpedia: Missouri Personhood Amendment (2010)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: “A group of anti-abortion activists has unrolled a new strategy: Stretch the legal definition of “person” in state constitutions to cover a freshly fertilized egg in a woman’s womb. ‘We are defining the word ‘person’ as a human being … regardless of age, level of functioning, perceived ability or disability,’ said Cal Zastrow, co-founder of Personhood USA, which formed in 2008. ‘When there is an innocent person, the law should protect them.’”

AP: “Nevada Supreme Court justices appear skeptical of overruling a lower court decision on a ballot initiative that would reshape state abortion law.”