In a new video, the National Black Pro-life Coalition’s Dr. Alveda King advocates the “Personhood” movement, which has become increasingly popular in recent months. King compares aborting a fertilized egg to tampering with the eggs of a bald eagle or California condor, which can result in both jail time and hefty fines, and says that “Personhood” is “not extreme,” but “the truth.”
So-called “personhood” amendments that would ban abortion and some forms of birth control have cropped up across the country. Critics (including some pro-life lawmakers) argue the bills are too extreme and could potentially weaken the pro-life cause. King speaks to those concerns in the Coalition’s newly released video.
“Some people claim that ‘Personhood’ goes too far because they think it gives rights to ‘fertilized’ eggs,” says King, who goes on to note that tampering with the egg of a California condor could lead to a $50,000 fine and up to five years in jail. “But the tiniest, most defenseless people are not protected at all. When it comes to human beings, there is no such thing as a fertilized egg.”
King argues that the term ”fertilized egg” is used to dehumanize it and that “Personhood” is “not extreme. It’s the truth.”
Mississippians will soon vote on a “Personhood” measure in their state, and a “Personhood” ballot initiative was recently approved for signature gathering in Montana. Though Personhood Florida’s efforts to place an anti-abortion amendment on the Florida ballot failed last year, the group’s leader has vowed to try again.
The National Black Pro-life Coalition recently made headlines for its involvement in a set of controversial, anti-abortion billboards in Oakland, Calif., and Atlanta, Ga. The Coalition, in partnership with the Radiance Foundation, has launched a campaign devoted against Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics, which it claims are the “No. 1 killer” of African-Americans.
Watch the video in its entirety:
