MS Initiative 26: More Than Just About Abortion

By: Jessica Osman

On Tuesday, November 8 Mississippians will head to the polls and, among other things, vote on the controversial Initiative 26 which, if passes, would amend the state constitution.  The wording is as follows:

So what does this mean?  In its simplest terms, the moment a sperm enters an egg that would now be a person under the eyes of the law.  However, Initiative 26 is far from simple.  If it passes then it will certainly open Pandora’s Box.  Yes, the amendment will outlaw abortion, but it goes beyond that.  First, all abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, will be made illegal.  Most people that take a pro-life stance usually allow for these to be the exception, but that would no longer be the case in Mississippi where victims would now be forced to have their attacker’s children.  Second, Plan B, an emergency contraception more commonly known as “the morning after pill”, would be illegal as well because even though a woman is not considered pregnant yet, the egg is fertilized and under this new amendment it would count as abortion rather than pregnancy prevention, which is the purpose of contraception.  Pregnancy tests don’t even show as positive until after implementation of a fertilized egg in the uterus so why should the government suddenly decide that pregnancy and life now begin at fertilization instead? 

Due to Initiative 26’s ambiguous wording there could be a slew of potential lawsuits.  In ectopic pregnancies and other cases where the mother’s life is in danger we hit a gray area.  There is no wording to protect for these situations.  Proponents of the amendment claim that a doctor is required to do everything they can to try and save both, but in the cases where there isn’t viability then the doctor would save just the mother.  Well, who decides if a doctor did everything they could or not? 

IUDs would also be made illegal.  Again, because of the ambiguous wording we can’t know where this will lead.  What happens to women that already have them?  Are they supposed to be tracked down and lined up at a doctor’s office to remove them?  What about if a woman wants to move to Mississippi?  Will women now be stopped at the border and asked if they have an IUD?

What about tubal ligations and vasectomies?  What about birth control pills and diaphragms and even condoms for that matter?  Could people be charged as accessories to murder for responsible family and preventing fertilizations?  Who is to say?  Again, because of the ambiguity of the bill the door is open to lawsuits and several interpretations.  If you think that in our litigious society that this is ludicrous and would never happen remember that there was a day when nobody thought someone would sue a company because they spilled coffee on themselves.  Why would we think that with something as serious as life that people wouldn’t sue?  Even Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has expressed concern over the ambiguous wording in Initiative 26. 

If Mississippians want to abolish abortion and a woman’s right to choose then they need a bill that states just that.  Initiative 26 is not that bill.  It is not just anti-choice, it is anti-assault victim, anti-responsible family planning and it is government going way too far.  As if that was not enough, it will also have a harmful snowball effect to other states with the upcoming 2012 elections.  Mississippians must vote NO on Initiative 26.