Georgia Republicans to vote on non-binding personhood amendment

Republicans in Georgia's 159 counties will be voting on a non-binding personhood amendment to "send a message" to the state government to "protect all life."  Early voting for the July 31st general primary begins next week.

What has been titled the "Life Amendment" reads:

Should the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to provide that the paramount right to life is vested in each innocent human being from his or her earliest biological beginning without regard to age, race, sex, health, function, or condition of dependency?"

Georgia Right to Life says that if the amendment is approved, specific legislation would then need to pass to spell out the details of how the amendment would be implemented. The group claims that contraceptives not considered to be abortifacients would not be banned. However, it claims that RU 486 (the morning after pill) and the IUD would become illegal should the Life Amendment become law. The intrauterine device (IUD) is a form of birth control; it is an object placed in the uterus to prevent pregnancy.  As Kate Sheppard pointed out in a Mother Jones article concerning the personhood amendment that was ultimately rejected by Mississippi voters, "IUDs can also prevent sperm from fertilizing the egg in the first place, and IUDs with hormones also operate much like regular old birth control pills, but that doesn't seem to matter to anti-abortion activists."

Georgia Right to Life is a faith-based group that believes that "a human person is sacred by virtue of the fact that we are created in the image of a personal benevolent God" and seeks to "restore respect and effective legal protection for all human beings from the moment of fertilization until natural death."

The group's video advertisement promoting the Life Amendment compares abortion with the Holocaust.  The ad says that the amendment will "protect the value and sanctity of all life," but assures Republican voters that the amendment will not do away with the death penalty:

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D. Beeksma

One of the growing crowd of American "nones" herself, Deborah is a prolific writer who finds religion, spirituality and the impact of belief (and non-belief) on culture inspiring, fascinating and at times, disturbing. She hosts the God Discussion show and handles the site's technical work. Her education and background is in business, ecommerce and law.

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