Anti-Choice Floridians Peddling Constitutional Amendment to Criminalize Birth Control Pill

Posted by Liliana Segura, AlterNet at 2:15 PM on September 14, 2009.

The "Personhood Amendment" would define someone as a "person," regardless of age or health status, "from the beginning of the biological development of that human being."

This post originally appeared in PEEK.

Florida has done it again, folks.

Yes, the state that brought you Bush v. Gore, the sex offender colony under the bridge, and the shoot-first-ask-questions-later legislation known as the "Stand Your Ground Law" has another idea up its sleeve. And this one's for the ladies.

Tampa Bay Online reports:

TALLAHASSEE - Anti-abortion conservatives are proposing a new constitutional amendment that critics claim would make it a crime to take birth control pills in Florida.

The "Personhood Amendment" that conservative activists are filing today in Tallahassee would add language to the state constitution that defines someone as a "person," regardless of age or health status, "from the beginning of the biological development of that human being."

This, of course, is just another twist on the conventional argument by anti-choice groups that birth control pills are basically murder weapons. "The pill will irritate the lining of the uterus so that the newly formed human being cannot attach to his/her mother's womb and dies," reads an explanation on the website of the American Life League, which is supporting similar efforts in other states. "This is called a chemical abortion."

Read on...