Personhood is an anti-abortion movement that holds that life begins at conception, giving fertilized eggs all the rights of a human being. It might make it impossible to kidnap them for in-vitro fertilization. It could outlaw some forms of contraception.
Senator Rand Paul claims every fertilized egg is protected by the 14th Amendment. Many current Senate candidates are personhood supporters, including Cory Gardner, who is running a very close race in Colorado against Mark Udall.
The abortion issue has been on everyone’s mind lately. On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous finding that the 35-foot buffer zones around Massachusetts abortion clinics violated protesters’ freedom of speech. We do not have time to discuss this in detail, except to point out that this decision came from people who work in a building where the protesters aren’t allowed within 250 feet of the front door.
Bigger news is expected on Monday, when the court is scheduled to tell us whether business owners have a right to express their religious beliefs by eliminating certain contraceptives from their employees’ health care coverage. This is the Hobby Lobby case, which is going to bring us right back to personhood in no time at all.
So, Constitution 101, Tea-Party style:
Corporations are people. Fertilized eggs aren’t people but they’re protected under the 14th Amendment. People who carry a fertilized egg are not protected under the 14th Amendment, unless they’re dead, then they’re kept alive so that the fertilized egg can continue enjoying its 14th Amendment rights.
Science isn’t science, unless some version of the bible matches up with it.
The constitution is a lay document that, some say, was founded on Christian principles, even though religion and state separate, unless we’re talking about a fertilized egg, in which case, the egg trumps all. Oh, and if you’re a Muslim, the constitution doesn’t apply to you.
Georgia candidate for Congress Hice: “”Most people think Islam is a religion, It’s not. It’s a totalitarian way of life with a religious component. But it’s much larger. It’s a geo-political system that has governmental, financial, military, legal and religious components. And it’s a totalitarian system that encompasses every aspect of life and it should not be protected [under U.S. law],” he said.” http://tinyurl.com/kparkxc
To read this entire op-ed and my full comment, click here.
So, Constitution 101, Tea-Party style:
