Antiabortion-Rights Advocates Push 'Personhood' Ballot Measures In Missouri, Nevada

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 27 Oct 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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Missouri: The Missouri secretary of state approved petitions for two antiabortion-rights ballot initiatives on proposed state constitutional amendments, the Kansas City Star reports. One measure would define the term "person" as any human from the "beginning of biological development" and grant him or her full constitutional rights. The other proposal would ban state and local governments from providing funding to medical facilities for certain services and research, including abortion procedures and some forms of stem cell research. For the proposals to reach the statewide ballot, supporters must obtain signatures from at least 8% of voters in six of nine congressional districts, which amounts to 150,000 people, according to the Star (Noble, Kansas City Star, 10/22).

Nevada: Nevada abortion-rights supporters and civil rights advocates are reviewing a proposed ballot initiative that seeks to define people as "everyone possessing a human genome" from the beginning of development to the end of life, the AP/San Jose Mercury News reports. The measure would effectively ban abortion in the state and could affect end-of-life care. Richard Ziser, a conservative activist in Las Vegas, filed the petition for the initiative Wednesday. Lee Rowland, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said the organization "vehemently oppose(s)" the initiative. For the measure to appear on the 2010 ballot, supporters would need to gather 97,000 signatures. For it to become law, it would have to be approved by voters in 2010 and again in 2012. In 1990, Nevada voters approved a referendum that protected abortion rights and prohibited any changes in the law except by a direct vote of the people. Currently the state prohibits abortion after 24 weeks' gestation except to protect the health of the woman, according to the AP/Mercury News (Chereb, AP/San Jose Mercury News, 10/22).

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