Time ran out for “personhood” in the Alabama legislature. Alabama Senate Bill 301 would have declared the personhood of an unborn child. The effect of the bill would have been to ban all chemical and surgical abortions. SB 301 cleared the Senate 23-7. However, last-minute changes caused the legislation to die when the House session ended on June 9.

Nonetheless, the fact that this bill came so close to passage indicates the momentum of the “personhood movement,” according to the pro-life organization Personhood USA. The group says that having unborn children legally recognized as persons is vital to ending abortions. They cite Justice Harry Blackmun, who wrote the Roe v. Wade majority opinion. Blackmun said the abortion case collapses if laws establish personhood of the unborn. As he said, “The fetus’ right to life would then be guaranteed specifically.”

No state has passed personhood legislation. Yet this year alone, representatives have sponsored personhood bills in North Dakota, Iowa, Georgia, Montana, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Alabama. Mississippi will consider an amendment in November.

(Sydney Nichole Thomas/WNS)