personhood legislation

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Whales Just Gained Personhood Here
Whales Just Gained
Personhood Here
Apr 2, 2024 12:26 PM CDT

Whales Just Gained Personhood Here

Polynesian Indigenous groups sign treaty they hope will lead to greater protections

(Newser) - Whales are people, too, according to the Indigenous leaders of New Zealand, Tahiti, and the Cook Islands, who've acted to bestow personhood on whales. New Zealand's Maori and other Indigenous groups from Polynesia signed a treaty that recognizes all whales as legal persons as part of an effort...

GOP Has Itself Another 'Hot Potato' After IVF Ruling
GOP Has Itself Another
'Hot Potato' After IVF Ruling
THE RUNDOWN
Feb 22, 2024 11:00 AM CST

GOP Has Itself Another 'Hot Potato' After IVF Ruling

Backlash against personhood ruling has begun; one hospital has already halted IVF treatments

(Newser) - On Monday, Alabama's Supreme Court ruled that embryos frozen via in vitro fertilization are to be considered children, in a case where IVF patients had sued after their embryos were accidentally destroyed at a fertility clinic. Critics are now warning of the "chilling effects" this ruling could have,...

This State's Bill Grants Fetus the Right to Be HOV Passenger

Critics push back on Virginia legislation, saying it would strip abortion rights via 'personhood' concept

(Newser) - Pregnant but don't have a carpool companion? In Virginia, new legislation seeks to allow you to use the HOV lane anyway, counting your fetus as a second passenger. But reproductive rights advocates are wary, countering that Republicans are using the bill to try to push the concept of "...

No Freedom for 2 Chimps Being Used for Research

Chimps Hercules, Leo are denied legal personhood rights

(Newser) - Two chimpanzees being used for mobility research at Stony Brook University in New York will not be released to a sanctuary because a state supreme court judge has dismissed the lawsuit seeking to grant them personhood. The reason comes down to legal precedent: A higher court ruled last year that...

Ohio Personhood Initiative Fails
 Ohio Personhood Initiative Fails
Jul 4, 2012 2:16 AM CDT

Ohio Personhood Initiative Fails

Anti-abortion group gets just 30K of 385K signatures needed

(Newser) - Another setback for the "personhood" movement: An anti-abortion group in Ohio has failed to gather enough signatures to be able to ask voters to amend the state constitution to declare that life begins when a human egg is fertilized, AP reports. Backers of the proposed amendment only gathered 30,...

Oklahoma Court Blocks 'Fetal Personhood' Measure

'Clearly unconstitutional' ballot measure declared void

(Newser) - Oklahoma's Supreme Court has rejected a "clearly unconstitutional" ballot measure that would have defined a fertilized human egg as a person, effectively banning all abortions in the state. The nine justices decided unanimously that the measure should not make it onto the ballot this November because the US...

Virginia Senate Puts Fetus 'Personhood' Bill on Ice

Surprise 24-14 vote follows Capitol protests

(Newser) - Virginia's state Senate made a surprise about-face yesterday: In a 24-14 vote, lawmakers effectively placed the so-called "personhood" bill, which declared that a person's rights begin from the moment sperm meets egg, on ice for the rest of 2012. Earlier that day, the Senate Education and Health...

Beware the Birth Control Grizzlies

Women could come flying off the bench in 2012 over health issues

(Newser) - Forget the mama grizzlies. In 2012, Hell may hath no fury like a woman voter scorned by the right, reports Politico . Between Rick Santorum's call for states to be able to ban birth control, Komen's defunding of Planned Parenthood , Catholic bishops' contraception brouhaha , a Santorum backer who defined...

Oklahoma Senate Passes 'Personhood' Act

Says life begins at conception, but supporters say it doesn't ban abortion

(Newser) - The Oklahoma Senate has passed a controversial bill that declares that life begins at the moment of conception, in a landslide 34-8 vote. The Personhood Act passed yesterday after two hours of debate. It's unclear what effect the bill will have, however; its author says it's just a...

Va. House Passes Bill That Could Outlaw Abortions

Passes 2nd bill related to 'transvaginal ultrasounds'

(Newser) - The Virginia House of Delegates passed two abortion-related bills yesterday, and the AP isn't mincing words in describing them, or the process, saying the GOP supermajority "muscled [through] two of the most restrictive anti-abortion bills in years." One requires women to have a "transvaginal ultrasound"—...

Georgia Democrat Seeks 'Personhood' Amendment

Pro-life lawmakers sponsoring measure that failed in Miss.

(Newser) - A pair of Georgia lawmakers are planning to introduce legislation similar to the "personhood" amendment defeated in Mississippi last week . The bill—which would declare a fertilized egg to be a person, effectively outlawing all abortions—will be introduced in the state Senate by a Republican, but its sponsor...

Party's Over Conservatives, Prepare for Battle
Party's Over Conservatives, Prepare for Battle
Charles Krauthammer
Nov 11, 2011 1:15 PM CST

Party's Over Conservatives, Prepare for Battle

2011 elections show the midterm wave is over: Krauthammer

(Newser) - Charles Krauthammer thinks the 2011 elections were a clear warning to conservatives: “The 2010 party is over. 2012 will be a struggle,” he writes in the Washington Post . In Ohio voters easily rejected a law limiting public sector unions—though they also voted against the individual health care...

Mississippi Voters Reject Personhood Amendment That Would Have Banned Abortions in the State
 Mississippi Rejects 
 'Personhood' Amendment 
2011 elections
Nov 9, 2011 6:00 AM CST

Mississippi Rejects 'Personhood' Amendment

Measure would have banned abortions in the state

(Newser) - A big win for supporters of abortion rights tonight in Mississippi: Voters rejected a "personhood" ballot initiative declaring that life begins at conception, reports the AP . It would have effectively banned all abortions in the state, including those caused by rape and incest, and possibly led to a legal...

Mississippi Decides Today: Is Fertilized Egg a Person?

Polls show voters are split

(Newser) - Mississippi voters are being asked to decide today whether a fertilized egg should be considered a person under the state constitution—and polls show a near-even split on the question. If it passes, Initiative 26 will be the first "personhood" law in the nation. The initiative is designed to...

Alabama Bills Could Outlaw All Abortions

Legislation declares 'personhood' at moment of conception

(Newser) - Alabama legislators have introduced bills that would grant personhood to fetuses from the moment of conception—and they appear to have a lot of support. One bill, introduced in both the House and Senate, would amend the Alabama Code of 1975 to alter the definition, while another House bill would...

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