The push to grant fetuses??personhood? status in order to subvert the U.S. Supreme Court’s?Roe v. Wade?ruling?has not yet gained enough ground for Gualberto Garcia Jones.
Jones is an advocate for Personhood USA, a Religious Right Movement who have gained national?attention for their extreme efforts to end reproductive rights, and whose website explains the strategy of granting personhood this way:
?When the term ?person? is applied to a particular class of human beings, it is an affirmation of their individual rights. In other words, to be a person is to be protected by a series of God-given rights and constitutional guarantees such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.?
Jones authored the Colorado personhood Initiative, which was rejected by voters. The anti-choice advocate stated in an op-ed that since ?the current strategy of statewide ballot measures may have reached its limit?it is time to switch up the strategy.?
That strategy, stated Jones, comes in the form of municipal policy measures, since everything from ?local health and building codes to local law enforcement such as child abuse prevention? can be written to prevent abortion clinics from operating. Since these codes and policies are written by legislators, and not voted on by citizens, Jones could effectively circumvent the democratic process using this strategy.
Although women are, technically, ?people,? apparently recognizing individual rights for all does not include recognizing the rights of a woman who wishes to exercise her Constitutional right to determine whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. Voters are also “people,” but Jones does not consider their right to vote on policies around “personhood” rights fundamental, either.
Personhood USA may be convinced that granting rights to fetuses ?terrifies the pro-abortion foes,? but it is the sneaky tactics suggested by Jones that should have Women’s Reproductive Justice advocates on guard.
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