19 February 2009

US "Personhood Law" Inching Forward

I'll tell you straight away that Ocean and I are pro-choice on the abortion issue and vehemently against the State of North Dakota legislators attempting to pass the Personhood of Children Act.
Pro-choice groups have warned that a law passed by legislators in the US state of North Dakota recognizing the "personhood" of a fetus would not only outlaw abortion but could also bar access to birth control.

Lawmakers in the North Dakota lower house voted 51 to 41 on Tuesday to pass the Personhood of Children Act, which confers the same basic rights on "all human beings from the beginning of their biological development, including the pre-born, partially born."

The bill is expected to go before the state senate in around two weeks.

If passed, it would be used to challenge the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe versus Wade decision that legalized abortion in the United States and gave the country some of the least restrictive abortion laws in the world, experts said.

The actions being taken by lawmakers in North Dakota to restrict a woman's autonomy are regressive, oppressive, controlling, inane and downright morally incomprehensible.

Imagine the outcry if nine men in ten would be required, by law, to be sterilized. Imagine men having that decision forced upon them, whether they agreed or not.

You may not concur with this comparison but we can think of nothing else that would give pause for thought, as North Dakota lawmakers inch toward such a despicable decision.

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