As you all know, Mississippi's Initiative 26, the Personhood initiative, was defeated on November 8th. I was disappointed, maybe even a bit depressed, but we must move on.
After reflecting on the events for a couple of days, I've come to realize that things are not nearly as gloomy as they seemed. Four of ten people voted yes to protecting the unborn. They voted yes even though the initiative wasn't as clear as it could have been. Four of ten. That's incredible, and something we should all be proud of.
Of the people who didn't vote yes, a vast majority were mislead by Planned Parenthood's false claims of birth control bans.
We all want to reduce the number of abortions, but 26 is so extreme that it would ban common forms of birth control like the pill.
It was a lie which was repeated ad nauseum. There was also the scare tactic that women with ectopic pregnancies would be left to die. And the one that couples who need IVF intervention, wouldn't be able to access it. All lies, but effective. Most good liars are effective though, aren't they?
But even with the lies, four out of ten people voted yes.
The initiative wasn't perfect, but it was a place to start. As we move forward. we must remember something. If the initiative had passed, it certainly would have been contested in court. Of course that was the point. But if because of it's ambiguity, it failed, it could have set us back another 40 years on overturning Roe. None of us want that.
Let's trust the people who know what steps must be taken, and when to take them. Let's get this right.
I'd like to say thank you for all your excellent coverage on the Personhood Initiative. You did a stellar job. Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for that MPQ. I appreciate you!
ReplyDeleteI'm proud of Mississippi as well, but for obviously opposite reasons. (and to be honest, I really thought it would pass) However, what I find interesting is the polling. All gallop polls, with a margin of error of 3% or less, indicated the amendment would be a close one. But as we've now have seen the amendment was rejected by 14% which is huge. This indicates one of two things:
ReplyDelete1. The polling was incorrect.
This, of course, is impossible. All polling done (well I'm sure not ALL but at least the ones used on reputable news sources) had a sound statistical margin of error.
2. People lied when being polled.
This is the most plausible. This indicates that what pro-choicers have said for years is right. Most anti-choicers are anti-choice in public but pro-choice in the dark.
Jackie - Just my opinion, but to me, pro-choicer's were led to believe it would pass, in an effort to get more of you to the polls. Also, it is my firm belief that people were frightened of the unknown. Changing the constitution is a big step. If you're not sure of what changing it will do, you simply vote no.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any poll data, if you would be so kind to link it, I would appreaciate it.