Personhood . . .

There is a truly terrifying movement happening in this country right now, particularly frightening if you're a woman of child-bearing years. The Personhood Movement.

Haven't heard of it? You need to pay attention. I've blogged before about the right's measures to defund Planned Parenthood, thus denying thousands of low-income women health care on the off chance that they just might be seeking an abortion. Several states across the country have already jumped on that bandwagon, conservative members of Congress all but frothing at the mouth over the idea that any sort of federal funding could go towards murdering a precious bundle of zygotes. We already know how these upstanding representatives feel about victims of rape, so we shouldn't be surprised by any of that, right?

Well, now they're going even further. Personhood advocates are making a major push in states like Mississippi to define personhood as beginning at the moment of conception. No exceptions. Let me give you a minute to think about the implications of that.

That means:

-a girl who is raped by her father at the age of twelve must carry her baby to term.

-a woman who is raped in any case must carry her baby to term.

-all women everywhere MUST CARRY THEIR BABIES TO TERM.

Can you imagine that twelve-year-old child forced to spend the next nine months carrying the seed of her own father's evil? What would she think each time she spies her growing belly? Endures the scorn of her classmates? Suffers pain and discomfort? All through no fault of her own, she is physically and emotionally scarred for life. But, these Personhood asshats don't give a damn about her, because apparently the idea of Personhood with a capital P doesn't apply to her. They would turn her body into a vessel against her will.

And, they're not going to stop at denying choice from victims of rape and incest. Oh no. They hate birth control too. Think about it: most forms of hormonal birth control (used by the majority of women who take any form of birth control) have the ability to not only prevent fertilization of eggs, but also prevent implantation. That's right: if by some chance some guy's little swimmers make it through and an egg is fertilized, the pill or patch or what-have-you prevents that egg from implanting. So, by the Personhood standpoint, this should also be illegal. No birth control. No choice. Women are not people, but tools for making babies.

One of the most terrifying aspects of this is a provision that would allow hospitals to refuse to perform abortions IN ANY CASE. If a woman comes into the ER bleeding heavily, her body miscarrying, and she requires an abortion to save her life, the hospital would have the legal right to turn her away. NO MATTER WHAT. A bleeding woman, dying, and they could legally refuse to treat her. Because, once again, that woman is not a person. Her baby is worth more than she is, according to these people.

Obviously, I am vehemently pro-choice. If you're not, I take the same stance that I take on differing religions or political views from mine: fine. This is America, and you're free to believe whatever you want. It's when people start trying to force everyone to believe what they believe that I have a problem with that. I believe my body is mine, in the same way that a man's body completely and utterly belongs to him. I believe no one has the right to take away my choices where my own body is concerned. I believe that I will have a child when I am mentally and financially able to support one, and able to be a better mommy than I could be at present.

I am simply terrified by the thought that my daughters might one day not have the choice to believe what I believe.