Check out the biggest moments for the Personhood movement of the past year!
As this year draws to an end, we’re reflecting on everything that our
movement has accomplished in the past 12 months. Personhood has
experienced massive growth and attracted worldwide attention in the last
year. Walk down memory lane with us as we count down the Top 10
Personhood Moments in 2014:
10. Defeated Colorado’s Radical Abortion Expansion Bill
Personhood USA helped defeat what would have been the most extreme
pro-abortion law in the country (S.B. 175), enshrining a “fundamental
right” to abortion more broad than
Roe v. Wade within the Colorado constitution.
Planned Parenthood Votes Colorado released an email after the defeat,
blaming personhood supporters for the bill’s failure. Democratic
lawmakers began to waver under the intense pressure of local personhood
activists after more than 5,000 signatures against the bill were
gathered in just a few hours and delivered to legislators. Hundreds
rallied on the steps of the Capitol building in Denver to oppose the
bill.
9. A Voice For Brady Featured on CBS, NBC, and Huckabee
Personhood USA’s A Voice For Brady campaign for Amendment 67 in Colorado
gathered significant media attention. Heather Surovik, Brady’s mom, was
featured on CBS’s
The Doctors, FOX’s
Huckabee Show, and in an NBC
spotlight feature.
Millions of viewers and readers were confronted with Heather’s story.
They had to come to terms with the fact that 8lb. 2oz. Brady was a
person and that his life mattered. If Brady was a person just days
before he would have been born, what about a week before? Or a month
before that? Or 3 months before that?
Ultimately, Brady’s story changed hearts and minds in favor of
recognizing the rights and dignity of unborn children, so that others
like him can be protected.
8. New Hampshire GOP Adopts Personhood Platform
The Republican Party of New Hampshire introduced new Personhood language
into its official platform, promising to “support pre-born child’s
fundamental right to life and personhood under the Fourteenth Amendment,
and implement all Constitutional and legal protections.”
This proposal signifies a big step for the New Hampshire GOP platform
because it brings the platform into conformity with the national
Republican platform, President Ronald Reagan’s Personhood Proclamation,
and the ultimate goal of the pro-life movement: the rights of Personhood
for all human beings.
7. Increased the Conversation About Abortion in America
More people are talking about Personhood for the unborn than ever
before. Over the past year, there were 19,937 articles written about
Personhood. In the month before the 2014 election alone, there were over
6,177 articles talking about Personhood!
As MSNBC observed, “In only six years, the Personhood movement has
utterly changed the contours of the debate over reproductive rights
[abortion].”
6. Meriam Ibrahim Saved From Execution
Meriam Ibrahim was released from jail and her death sentence was revoked after
Personhood activists sent
311,022 letters to Sudanese officials, calling for Meriam’s pardon and
release. Meriam was sentenced to death by hanging while pregnant with
her unborn daughter for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. She
was later forced to give birth with her legs shackled in prison.
Under immense pressure from international organizations like Personhood
USA, the Sudanese government finally capitulated to the overwhelming
outcry of human rights activists from around the globe. An appeals court
agreed to pardon Meriam and release her immediately. She was reunited
with her husband and escaped to Italy, where she met Pope Francis,
before finally reaching the United States.
This was a triumph for Personhood, since every human being deserves to
have his or her God-given fundamental rights protected at all life
stages. Your involvement made Meriam’s freedom possible!
5. Alabama Supreme Court Doubles Down on Personhood
Last year, we
celebrated Alabama’s landmark court ruling which recognized unborn children as persons.
This year, the Alabama Supreme Court
doubled down
on their previous pro-personhood ruling by reaffirming the state’s
protections against chemical endangerment “for all persons–born and
unborn.” This decision marks a major victory for the pro-life cause
around the country, as the legal framework of abortion begins to
crumble.
Chief Justice Roy Moore’s concurring opinion was especially dazzling,
written especially ”to emphasize that the inalienable right to life is a
gift of God that civil government must secure for all persons–born and
unborn.”
“Under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,” Moore
wrote, “states have an obligation to provide to unborn children at any
stage of their development the same legal protection from injury and
death they provide to persons already born.”
4. South Carolina Affirms Personhood Resolution
Voters made a
historic decision in South Carolina
this year as 79% of Republicans called for a personhood amendment to
the state constitution that would guarantee equal protection under the
law to preborn children, from the moment of conception.
The landslide majority, gathering nearly a quarter of a million affirmative votes, is the largest show of support
by percentage in any public vote held on personhood.
If any 2016 Republican Presidential candidate expects to do well in the
crucial South Carolina primary, that candidate cannot forget that 79% of
the base believes preborn children deserve full Personhood protections.
These are the statistics candidates cannot ignore!
3. Freedom for Justina Pelletier
Fifteen-year-old Justina Pelletier, who suffers from mitochondrial
disease, was seized from her family in February 2013 by Boston
Children’s Hospital and Massachusetts DCF over a disagreement in medical
diagnosis. For one year, she was subjected to neglect and abuse by the
state.
Because
Personhood USA seeks to ensure recognition of the dignity and rights of
every human individual, we viewed Justina Pelletier’s plight as a clear
case where human dignity was being undermined. Massachusetts DCF and
the Boston Children’s Hospital treated Justina as property rather than
respecting her personhood. She was considered property of the state, not
a person with full dignity and rights under the law.
After a year of inaction, Personhood USA was able to step in and within
114 days, radically change the Pelletiers’ circumstances and bring
Justina home.
YOU were a key part of that accomplishment, through
calling the Massachusetts DCF and Judge Johnston’s office and signing
the petition to state lawmakers to free Justina! The Free Justina
campaign reached 611 million people and was featured on Dr. Phil,
Huckabee, and
Megyn Kelly.
On June 18, Justina Pelletier returned home to the loving arms of her family!
2. Highest Number Of Votes For Personhood Ever
Despite Planned Parenthood’s $15-20 million investment to defeat
personhood and pro-personhood candidates, the personhood movement
made significant gains with Colorado’s Amendment 67
and in tight battleground Senate races. In fact, more than 650,000
voters supported Personhood, which represents an electoral gain of 10%
since 2008, when the first personhood amendment was proposed in the
state of Colorado.
In 2010, the personhood amendment reached 30% support, which was about a
3% gain over the level of support from 2008. This year, Amendment 67
doubled that percentage increase with a 6% electoral gain over 2010. The
raw increase in votes for personhood in Colorado indicates that Planned
Parenthood’s lies are losing their effect and that people’s minds have
been changed on the issue of abortion because of Personhood’s presence
on the ballot!
1. Changed the Abortion Conversation in the 2014 Midterms
In every major Senate race during the 2014 midterm elections, Personhood
was a key dividing issue between the candidates. Rather than discussing
various abortion regulations or discussing other tertiary issues,
candidates were forced to either defend or deny the intrinsic dignity of
every human person, whether born or unborn.
Notably, the victor of Iowa’s Senate campaign, Joni Ernst, stood by her
sponsorship of a local personhood amendment that would recognize and
protect “the inalienable right to life of every person at any stage of
development.” Ernst’s victory sends a clear message to potential
Republican presidential candidates who want to win the Iowa caucuses.
While some other candidates narrowly eked by after turning their backs
on their pro-life constituencies, Ernst’s unapologetic strategy reaped
major dividends.
This is just one example of how Personhood’s active presence as the
largest grassroots pro-life organization has transformed the way we talk
about abortion in America.
Looking ahead to 2015…
The New York Times says “the front lines of the anti-abortion movement
belong to the ‘personhood’ people, who strive to give constitutional
rights and protections to the ‘preborn’ from the moment of conception.”
We intend to continue to be the tip-of-the-spear in the movement toward
human dignity for all. We’ve accomplished great growth in 2014 and we
expect 2015 to be an even bigger year for the Personhood movement.
Please join with us as we build a culture of life that protects every
human being. We can’t wait to stand with you in defense of human life!
