Personhood is a Civil Issue
A few months ago I was discouraged by the passage of
legislation that inserted itself into reproductive choice. The bill requires a medical procedure (ultrasound)
not normally ordered by a doctor prior to an abortion. The first draft included the even more invasive
transvaginal ultrasound. I write this
not in support of abortion; but, in support of women and girls who may find
themselves making one of the most difficult decisions they may ever face. Unlike many, I don’t believe for one moment
the vast majority take this action lightly or without considerable thought.
I have been Pro-Choice since my youth; I am no longer a
young woman and after having two children of my own and two beautiful
grandchildren I know that I would never want to face such a choice. I also know that I never want to have that
right taken from any woman. I do not
accept that a government should take precedent over one’s body.
In their zeal to protect the unborn, the Virginia Commonwealth’s Legislators attempted to pass ‘Personhood’ legislation this year. Fortunately, they failed. In today’s Virginian Pilot Dr. Howard Jones,
Jr., Cofounder of the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine at EVMS
authored an editorial which clearly lays out why it is a bad idea.
Thank you Dr. Jones for adding context to my concerns.
