Arkansas AG stops anti-abortion group from introducing ‘personhood’ bill
Image has not been found. URL: http://images.americanindependent.com/Keith-Mason-360x2701.jpgPhoto: Personhood USA co-founder Keith Mason (Photo: personhoodusa.com)
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has blocked the state’s Personhood affiliate from introducing a bill that would define life from the moment of conception, on the grounds that it is “too vague” as written. Though “fetal personhood” measures across the country have been criticized for that very reason, Personhood Arkansas leaders are now accusing McDaniel of having “pro-abortion” leanings.
“„The group submitted language for the proposal to Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, who rejected it on the basis of it being too vague. Personhood spokesman Keith Riley says that was no shock.
“„“They discussed several pro-life bills in the Arkansas legislature last year and he [McDaniel] sent somebody from his office to testify in opposition to every single one of them,” says Riley. “So, he’s been described in media circles as blatantly pro-abortion.”
Personhood Arkansas remains undeterred by the decision, and plans to submit a rewritten measure. Should the rewritten version be rejected, the group says it intends to file a lawsuit challenging the decision.
“Well, the next step is, we’re going to go ahead and re-file,” Riley told OneNewsNow. “The Personhood Arkansas group is trying to adopt as many of his recommendations as possible, and basically at this point we’re anticipating a second rejection of the language and what we’ll do then is file a lawsuit to challenge that second rejection.”
In October, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine rejected his state’s personhood initiative, after determining that a summary of the initiative was not “fair and truthful.” Supporters of the amendment addressed those concerns by adding language to clarify that the proposal would neither restrict the use of contraception nor affect in-vitro fertilization and, on Dec. 30, DeWine certified the rewritten ballot language.
