What if We Took "Fetal Personhood" Literally?

by Alex DiBranco · 2010-10-05 10:30:00 UTC
Topics:

When seeking out ways to take away women's reproductive rights, anti-choicers employ a variety of tactics, looking for the one that will stick. Of late, we've seen a spate of attempts to get "fetal personhood" bills passed, which would state "the term 'person' shall apply to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being." The goal is to get a clump of cells, otherwise known as a fertilized egg, deemed as much of a "person" as any full-formed, thinking, breathing individual, and in that way take away reproductive rights.

Of course, the debate on abortion wouldn't be completely closed by a personhood bill: just because it's a legally-defined "person" in a woman's womb doesn't automatically mean that she loses all rights to her own body, that she has to be an incubator and face the ordeal and risks of pregnancy. Any person who needs a womb, or a liver transplant, or bone marrow to live does not by their need have a right to use another person's body. But, as anti-choicers well know, it would certainly make it harder to legally defend a woman's human rights to set the beginning of full "personhood" at such an early moment. (A less-discussed effect is that it would also bar in-vitro fertilziation.)

Choice USA, however, has decided to create a humorous video pointing out what "fetal personhood" would mean if taken literally. Ticket for two for that concert?

Photo/Video credit: Choice USA

Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Domestic Violence Hits Prime Time
NEXT STORY:
Fox News' Trotta Still Doesn't Get It: I Want Her Rape Apologism Off the Air

COMMENTS (6)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.