Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is the latest to endorse the state’s “fetal personhood” movement, which aims to pass an amendment that would ban abortion and some forms of birth control. Hood says he will support his state’s Personhood Aendment and “if adopted, will defend it if challenged!”
Mississippi’s Amendment 26, which will be on the state’s November ballot, would define personhood as beginning “at the moment of fertilization.”
Hood caught flack for endorsing the measure on his Facebook wall, with a post that read:
Support Personhood! I want to make my position very clear. Personally, I have always honored the sanctity of life at every stage. As AG, I have defended every pro-life bill adopted by the MS Legislature. I have assisted our lawmakers with pro-life legislation and will continue to do so. I am the ONLY candidate in this race with a clear and consistent record of defending Mississippi’s tough anti-abortion laws. I support the Personhood Amendment, and, if adopted, will defend it if challenged!
The post has since disappeared from Hood’s Facebook page, but has remained up on both his Twitter account and his campaign website.
Critics of the Personhood movement argue that such amendments would not only ban abortion but could have numerous unintended consequences. One recent op-ed in the Clarion Ledger argued that the passage of the amendment could ban in vitro fertilization, which requires that embryos be frozen (which could potentially be considered child abuse under a personhood law) as part of fertility treatments.
Though a similar measure was deemed too extreme by Florida lawmakers, Personhood Mississippi has found no shortage of support among Mississippi lawmakers.
