Wednesday July 21, 2010
Montana Personhood Amendment Only 6,000 Signatures Short of Reaching Ballot
By James Tillman
HELENA, Montana, July 21 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Montana Personhood Amendment Initiative fell only 6,000 signatures short of the required 48,674 signatures necessary to put the amendment on the 2010 ballot.
“We have barely begun the fight for the rights and liberties of unborn babies, and we will keep working at it until their personhood is established in our Montana Constitution,” promised Dr. Annie Bukacek, the initiative organizer.
“All unpaid volunteers, this grassroots prolife network will work to influence the November elections and bills during the 2011 legislative session,” she said. “The killing of innocent humans is not compatible with a civilized society.”
The Montana Constitution provides that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Constitutional Initiative 102 would have amended the Constitution by defining “person” to include every human being, from the beginning of his or her biological development.
A personhood initiative in Montana in 2008 also failed to gather enough signatures to put the amendment on the ballot.
This time, however, Montana ProLife Coalition and Personhood Montana submitted more than the required number of signatures, although not all signatures were certified as valid. Volunteers collected nearly twice as many as they had in 2008.
“These are all volunteer signatures, which is an amazing feat in and of itself,” commented Chet Gallagher, a Personhood volunteer.
He continued: “These folks, both with the Montana ProLife Coalition and Personhood Montana, were working nonstop evenings and weekends to collect signatures, while most campaigns hire professionals. The hardworking volunteers see this as a stepping stone to victory in 2012.”
Last year a Personhood Amendment passed in the Montana Senate, making it the first such amendment to pass a state senate in U.S. history. The bill died in the House.
The personhood movement has divided pro-lifers in Montana, with some saying the tactic is unlikely to succeed and instead recommending other measures.
Montana Bishops Michael W. Warfel and George Leo Thomas did not endorse the Personhood initiative in 2008 or in 2010. They expressed concerns that, even if the Personhood amendment passed, it could trigger “an appellate process that could strengthen Roe v. Wade.”
Others, however, see a declaration of the personhood of the unborn as the most direct way to fight preborn-rights opponents such as Planned Parenthood, which has been caught using medically inaccurate statements to assure clients that unborn infants are not persons.
“Jesus Christ is building a movement for personhood rights of babies across the country,” said Cal Zastrow, co-founder of Personhood USA. “He will continue to build in Montana, and they will stand ready.”
“Although this year Montana citizens will not have the opportunity to end baby murder, we know will we have the chance in the very near future to protect every Montana citizen, no matter how small.”
There are now personhood movements in at least 31 states.
See related news on LifeSiteNews.com:
Personhood Amendment Passes Montana Senate
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09030202.html
Montana Catholic Bishops Will Not Support Constitutional Amendment Defining Personhood
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/mar/08030403.html