*Update. Oklahoma high court strikes down Personhood Ammendment

Though this petition did not manage enough exposure to receive a great number of signatures, the threat of Personhood was still struck down in Oklahoma, and that counts as a victory for this petition and all other petitions like it. Thank you to all those who signed.

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Recently, the state Oklahoma passed the 'Personhood Act,' which defines life as beginning at conception. Because of the Personhood Act, abortion has been made illegal. Regardless of the circumstances of the unintended pregnancy, abortion will not be allowed under the new legislation.

This means that if a woman is raped and becomes pregnant, she will be required, by law, to carry it to term with her body. This is also true of the baby is a product of incest, or if the pregnancy will kill the mother. Additionally, because of the broad language of the Personhood Act, many forms of birth control will be outlawed because they 'prevent pregnancies, and are therefore a form of abortion.'

There is nothing wrong with believing that life begins at the moment a sperm successfully implants itself into an egg, but it is wrong to take that belief and force all citizens to abide by it.

In many ways, this is not an issue that can be voted on, because popular opinion may not support the rights of women to determine what happens to their bodies; however, what we are discussing is not a privilege. It is a right. And rights cannot be voted on. It has long been said, "If you don't want an abortion, don't get one."

We as a people must learn to mind our own business; the reproductive choices of the people around us are not to be made by the government, or the democratic process that allows unfair opinions to be treated as law. I refuse to watch idly while women have their rights taken from them, while fundamentalist mentalities attempt again and again to return the female persuasion back to the days of being only 'barefoot and pregnant.' The fact is, the illegalization of abortion will not end abortion. Instead, many women will be forced to return to unsafe methods in order to end unwanted pregnancies- by means of blunt force trauma, the application of unmentionable horrors, or by visiting what was once known as a 'backyard butcher.' These forms of abortion are dangerous beyond measure; often, women fail to bring on miscarriage and live with dead fetuses in their bellies. Many, many women die. I present to you these facts without sugar-coating, because I need you to know that this is what Oklahoman and Iowan women may have to face.

It is the responsibility of Oklahoma senators and judges to turn these acts over, to protect women, and to treat them as more than just breeding cows whose only purpose is to produce children- whether those children are wanted or not. I urge you to sign this petition- support women, repeal the Personhood Act.

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Links

NARAL - Pro-Choice America​

Blog For Choice
*See most recent post for coverage on the anti-choice panel made almost entirely of men, plus the testimony of a woman not allowed to speak on behalk of contraception.

Oklahoma Senate Passes Personhood Act, Effectively Banning All Abortions​

Our Abortion Was Different; When the Anti-Choice Choose​

How the GOP Went Back to the Fifties in Just One Day​

What got Lost in the Debate about Birth Control