Gov. Haley Barbour: Personhood Legislation Too Ambiguous (UPDATED)

By The River Wanders

Mississippians will soon be faced with a vote on Initiative 26 – the state’s controversial legislation on personhood which essentially defines “life” as “beginning at fertilization.”  Anti-abortion groups see this as flagship legislation to outlaw abortion, and a leader of the movement behind 26 has stated that many common forms of birth control would be outlawed under the proposal.

Republican Governor Haley Barbour, a staunch pro-life advocate, said in an interview with Chuck Todd on MSNBC the wording of Initiative 26 concerns him.

BARBOUR: I believe life begins at conception. Unfortunately, this personhood amendment doesn’t say that. It says life begins at fertilization, or cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof. That ambiguity is striking a lot of pro-life people here as concerning. And I’m talking about people that are very, outspokenly pro-life. […]

TODD: How are you voting on it?

BARBOUR: Really I haven’t decided. If you would have asked me when this was first proposed, I would’ve said A, the legislature would’ve passed it 100 to 1. And B, I believe life begins at conception and therefore I would be for it. I am concerned about some of the ramifications on in vitro fertilization and [ectopic] pregnancies where pregnancies [occur] outside the uterus and [in] the fallopian tubes. That concerns me, I have to just say it.

UPDATE: In spite of his stated reservations, Barbour voted for Initiative 26 by absentee ballot.

By: TheRiverWanders

Independent parent, aspiring author and generally good egg with an occasional foul temper whose deepest curiosities lie in psychology, law, government, history, equal rights, animal rights and child development. Progressive. Allergic to stupid.