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Citizens in Mississippi, once, and Colorado, twice, have resoundingly rejected so called "personhood" measures that would have established the "pre-born" as separate legal persons under the law. There is increasing evidence that when people understand the broad reach of such measures, they vote them down. But what happens when prosecutors and judges misuse their power and "pass" such measures in disguise?While people in Mississippi were considering Proposition 26 and deciding whether fertilized eggs and embryos would be treated as entirely separate legal persons, a prosecutor and courts were addressing the same question behind the scenes, where voters have no role or voice.In 2004, the Mississippi Legislature broadened the state's homicide laws to define "human being" to include an "unborn child at every stage of gestation from conception until live birth." The fetal homicide laws in Mississippi, as around the country, were passed to address third-party violence against a pregnant woman that caused harm to the unborn. In Lowndes County, however, a prosecutor decided that this law could be used to punish a pregnant woman who suffered a stillbirth. The prosecution targeted an African-American teenager and chose a set of "facts" least likely to elicit sympathy: The prosecutor claimed that the stillbirth was caused by the teen's use of an illegal drug.If judges decide that the homicide law permits the prosecution of this teenager, then all pregnant women who suffer such losses can be prosecuted for the crime of homicide. This is because the decision in the case isn't about being a teenager or using drugs -- it is about the same thing as a personhood measure: redefining eggs, embryos, and fetuses in such a way as to give the state power to investigate, control, and punish women in relationship to their pregnancy outcomes.
That may be the single gayest thing I have ever read on this board. Or the old one.
Quote from: PastorDave on November 16, 2012, 02:55:21 pmRepent and accept Jesus.I'M SORRY, PASTOR DAVE. I'M AFRAID I CAN'T DO THAT.
Repent and accept Jesus.
Life for the sake of life means nothing.
The prosecution targeted an African-American teenager and chose a set of "facts" least likely to elicit sympathy: The prosecutor claimed that the stillbirth was caused by the teen's use of an illegal drug.
What's the original article for this? I missed the link somehow.
Don't you just love poorly-thought-out legislation?