I write this not only with expertise as a pro-life litigator and activist, but also with a personal stake in the outcome. After all, I’m alive today solely because my life was legally protected in Michigan at the time I was developing in utero. Michigan voters and legislators who were 100% pro-life — no exceptions/no compromise — are my heroes. I owe my life to them and that is why I, in turn, do the same for others.
Therefore, I strongly urge everyone to support the Florida Personhood Amendment, which would amend the Florida Constitution to define “person” and “natural persons” as applying “to all human beings, irrespective of age, race, health, function, condition of physical and/or mental dependency and/or disability, or method of reproduction, from the beginning of the biological development of that human being.” This is critical because the 14th Amendment “due process clause” and “equal protection clause” to the United States Constitution state as follows: “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Article 1, Section 2 of the Florida Constitution declares: “All natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life.” The majority opinion of the United States Supreme Court in Roe v Wade, Sec. IX, states, “If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant’s case, of course, collapses, for the fetus’ right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the Amendment.” However, the Court went on to say: “On the other hand, the appellee conceded on reargument that no case could be cited that holds that a fetus is a person within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment.” And then the Court concluded, “In short, the unborn have never been recognized in the law as persons in the whole sense.”
If a majority of states legally recognize the unborn “as persons in the whole sense,” then the whole Roe v Wade opinion collapses. This is why we must support personhood from state to state!
Additionally, with personhood, there are no “exceptions.” It would be ridiculous to suggest that all unborn children are persons except for children conceived in rape. And just to be clear, the Florida Personhood Amendment specifically provides that the term “person” applies irrespective of the method of reproduction.
We’ve been stuck in the desert for nearly 40 years. I’m tired of those who are afraid of the “giants in the land.” Chipping away at abortion has not brought us any closer to ending abortion in our nation. God is not going to honor mediocrity and compromise when it comes to the slaughter of innocent children who He created in His image. I want to have the same spirit of boldness that David and Caleb and Joshua had, recognizing that God is on our side and we don’t need to be afraid. Let’s take this giant out by hitting him where it counts. With this issue, personhood is where it counts, and the opposition knows it.
When you can say that you are pro-life without exception, it’s like saying, “I get it — you matter. Yours was a life worth saving!” Now I hope you’ll go forth and do the same for others by supporting the Florida Personhood Amendment. Let’s get this done.
For life,
Rebecca Kiessling
www.rebeccakiessling.com
