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