Egg-as-Person Initiatives on Ballots this Fall

It is ironic and hypocritical that the Jesus-hating terrorist Scott Melvin Evans would comment.
I know from personal experience.
I live two blocks away from where Scott bullies people nearly every Saturday (Scott Evans calls his bullying and harassing behavior “sidewalk counseling”). We all know exactly who Scott is and every single time I drive by there (like this past Saturday morning), he is out there with a ridiculous looking small video camera mounted to his shoulder, makes terrible loud noises blowing on some horn, all in some vain attempt to overcome some major insecurities, and all while trying to videotape everyone and violating everyone's right to privacy. My neighbors and I have researched these people and almost all of them are criminals!
Scott Melvin Evans and convicted criminals Jo Anne Scott (convicted of federal charges of conspiring to bomb a clinic!) and Ken Tyler Scott (convicted deadbeat dad!), are all Jesus-hating "sidewalk counselors" and have disgusting, photo-shopped signs, bloody plastic children's baby dolls, morbid "baby caskets", and fake 'abortion' posters of bloody babies, and these are all over the streets in our neighborhood. They have giant signs of miscarriages and knowingly falsely present them as "abortions".
I recently found out that Ken Scott has been committed to a mental hospital before because of his actions! Before I found this out, Ken had invited me out to join them after my neighbor's church went out for the 40 days for life protest. I was appalled at what I witnessed out on the public street! Their tactics are awful and even anti-human.
I have two daughters, both on birth control until they are ready to have my grandchildren (hopefully soon!), and if Scott harassed them like that, I would call the police on him. I met several of the other horrible bullies next to the driveway on that Saturday and got their names: Beau Ballentine, Leslie Hanks, Tony Massey, and Cliff Powell. They are out there regularly and are yelling nasty stuff too. They all try to emulate Scott Evans or Ken Scott's aggressive, obnoxious, anti-Jesus behaviour.
They know no boundaries, are very loud, obnoxious and aggressive and I can often hear them yelling and making noise from my back yard! NONE of my neighbors want to drive near these horrible images and activities, especially when we have our young children in the car. Everyone reading this take a minute and imagine how you would feel if you had these grotesque signs lining the streets in your neighborhood! We are sick of it. These "protestors" all seem to try to video tape and intimidate anyone who drives down Pontiac street here in Denver and will lie to and mislead ANYONE who they can get to stop to listen, or otherwise is within earshot.
These “sidewalk counselors” are out there nearly every day, and apparently paid to be there by Bob Adolph Enyart of Denver Bible Church in Arvada.
Fact: “Pastor” Bob Adolph Enyart was sentenced to 60 days in jail for beating a 7 year old boy so hard with a belt that he bled! This is the kind of person he truly is the leader of the pack and Scott Evans and Ken Scott follow his every whim, doing the devil’s work.
They are all blasphemous towards the sacred Christian Bible and are harassing many REAL Christians, most whom are going into a clinic for birth control and other needed medical services (many from our surrounding neighborhood!). They do so much harm to the anti-abortion cause, which should be peaceful. I personally would like to see us get to the point where abortion is rare or non-existent.
GOD will be the judge of all of us one way or another, NOT these terrible bullies! Jesus was peaceful and would have never done any of this and would not have approved in any way. These "sidewalk counselors" are the new Westboro Baptist Church of our community and their arrogant ignorance is so sad and pathetic that it sickens me.
These are the worst of the worst of anti-abortion (and anti-gay) extremists. Anyone that associates with these people will be judged the same way by the public and by God (as mentally ill, sadistic and psychopathic!) There is a special place in Hell for all of these people, but it's just as well, since these "sidewalk counselors" hate Jesus and are doing the devil's work.
I am a member of a very large and REAL Christian Church south of Denver and our Pastor gave a wonderful sermon on Sunday about how these "sidewalk counselor" bullies blaspheme the name of the Lord. Our Pastor encouraged us to engage Voice of Choice (http://www.vochoice.org) to help attempt to get the protesters to see that this should not be about anyone's stance on abortion, but to NOT BULLY and NOT HARRASS your fellow human beings.
Hundreds of the parishioners have contacted Voice of Choice and offered their services to do what they could do to help. I hope you will do the same. Please pray for the protesters!

Interesting that our boy "Scott" left the thread immediately after his ignorant, incorrect, ill-informed, misogynistic arguments were proven to be just that. A year has passed, and he hasn't been back. Yep, a real "man," that one. On a more depressing note, however, although these idiotic "personhood" bills did not all pass, we ended up with numerous cretins exactly like Scott in Congress, and as the last "Anonymous" poster predicted, they've been busily toiling to pass even more hideous and Draconian laws designed to deprive women of their Constitutional rights - indeed, denying them the very "personhood" that they claim to champion for non-existent "pre-born little boys and girls." While at the same time cutting off all benefits for pregnant women and mothers of infants and small children (WIC), health care for children (CHIP), Head Start, education - anything and everything that would ensure the well-being of children who are already ALIVE. Amazing how these sick people think (to use Scott's word for it). Just goes to show you, they don't give a fig for the "preborn," nor children of any age. What it's about is CONTROL of women. Period.

In my professional opinion, an embryo is not an person.

As someone who has experienced the pain of multiple miscarriages, I feel the deep loss, but also recognize the biology that embryos are more like paracites. I realize how insensitive that sounds, and I apologize to those who are offended, but that is my personal experience and perspective. They are cells living as paracites, not as an individual.

If "personhood" bills are passed, there are multiple threats to associated treatments. We are not just looking at a ban on abortion, we are looking at the end of infertility treatment. The 1 in 5 couples facing infertility will loose the opportunity to build their much wanted family. The millions of babies yet to be born, will not have that chance. A "personhood" bill could stop the creation of life.

As the mother of two IVF children, who can not imagine life without them, I can assure you this would be tragic. I am happy to support groups such as Resolve who actively fight Personhood bills. If you want to contact your legislator to oppose personhood laws, you can find step-by-step instructions at the Fertility Within Reach website, http://www.fertilityhealthadvocatesne.org/Contacting-Your-Legislator.html.

All my best,
Davina
Fertility Within Reach

I've been following this discussion and noted that it seems to have centered around the abortion issue. It's a fact that these so-called "personhood" initiatives are nothing less than a poorly veiled attempt to ban abortion, and no one, not even the "pro-lifers" will pretend otherwise. Yet very few people have addressed the more important - and more DANGEROUS - aspect of these misguided and mean-spirited initiatives, and that is the legal impact they will have on women's basic freedoms. Bestowing Constitutional rights upon a cluster of tissue (besides being ludicrous) will expose all women of childbearing age to criminal prosecution for even the most innocent of acts. Take for a moment a far-fetched yet entirely possible example. If a pregnant woman should enjoy a nice, relaxing soak in a hot tub/jacuzzi, she could be criminally prosecuted for exposing the fetus to harmful chemicals in the water, or even risking it's existence due to the high temperature of the water, which some so-called "experts" have claimed can cause miscarriage. And heaven help her if that parasitic potential person should actually survive to term (over 50% of pregnancies end in miscarriage naturally, without any human intervention), and grow into a 10-year-old with ADHD. The mother could be charged with child abuse resulting in grave bodily injury by some religious freak, right-wing, ultra-conservative, misogynistic, MALE legislator who craves not only votes from his ignorant and easily swayed constituency, but his 15 minutes of fame. Carry this scenario a bit further to it's logical progression . . . what about a woman who is (or may be) pregnant who drives 10 mph over the speed limit. Child endangerment? Or one who smokes, sips a glass of Chardonnay, eats sushi? How about one who participates in a strenuous sport such as tennis, volleyball, skiing, horseback riding, etc. Yes, let's jail them all. And then there's the issue of contraception. First, I'm wondering who is to determine the exact moment of "conception" - and how - to know that this "person" exists or may exist? Will a doctor, police officer, legislator or anyone else be in the bedroom while the couple is having intercourse, and immediately upon ejaculation, perform a pelvic exam on this woman? This may be graphic, but that's how ignorant these initiatives are, and how foolishly and thoughtlessly they are worded - "at the moment of conception." This moment is impossible to determine. Therefore, any type of birth control would be in violation of the law, by virtue of the fact that it prevents this egg from implanting. By ensuring that there is no uterine lining for it to do so, a woman is "destroying" that egg. Again, criminal liability if it's a "person" that she is supposedly killing. All of these scenarios may sound ridiculous, but they are not only possible, but will happen because of the language of these bills. And don't for a moment doubt that these same anti-choice legislators will do these very things, if only to further their legal cause. They can and will prosecute an absurd case like this simply to obtain rulings and set precedent to bolster their agenda, which is to control women, the result of which will deny them not only reproductive freedom, but basic human rights, as well. If you don't believe me, take a look at the irrational and ignorant (not to mention insulting and vicious) postings from "Scott" above. There are millions of rabid, raving, unstable, whacked-out and unreasoning individuals like him, many of which who are involved at some level in positions where they can influence these things. And lest you think I'm being hard on Scott, go back and read his nasty and uninformed (and frankly, incorrect) posts in which he attacks not only the other posters, but all women everywhere. Oh, and Scott - do you or have you ever had intercourse with a female? I'm curious because of your comment about how women should be "smart enough not to get pregnant," as though it's something they do unilaterally, like an amoeba. Or perhaps you haven't ever learned that it's the introduction of sperm by a male that causes pregnancy. Take a little responsibility yourself, mister, for all of these "evils" in the world which you claim are rampant all because of women's desire to make their own decisions about the most private aspects of their lives, rather than let cretinous Neanderthals like make those decisions for them.

Dear NClark,
Thank you for your support. It is so nice to receive comments like yours. And yes, I will continue writing about reproductive choice for women. It is a vital and essential. Women have the absolute and legal right to exercise control over their bodies. We have to be sure that those rights are not taken away.
Anna

hello...thanks for your comments Anna..and keep up the good work...whatever the opposition, however nasty it gets, this is an issue that needs to be discussed on an ongoing basis..until everyone realizes that women will never have true freedom and equality without control over their reproductive rights. Pro-choice or anti-choice...this issue is for a woman to decide..not for her neighbours..not for her senator...not for anyone not personally involved and invited. It is vitally important that this issue is talked about..it would be nice if talking did not include ranting and name calling..however..you are doing the right thing by writing about it and keeping the issue out there for all to think about. THANK YOU.

to anna..i hope i haven't offended anyone or gone over the top...i just get so upset at being called a monster and being the target of so much anger..it makes me nervous...and i truly believe we do need better education and methods of birth control...and safe..legal..available abortion for all women around the world.

You know...i was trying to have a civil debate about the choices a woman makes because she is the only one of our species capable of reproducing and the difficulties she faces making those decisions..partly because of raving idiots like you...you see i am not being so civil any more..but you are the one who went on the rant about jabbing scissors into babies skulls and sucking out the brains...i am not sure who told you about how abortions are performed...but i am pretty sure they do not resemble on a normal basis your Saw II or Friday he 13th scenario...this is how i am sure you try to frighten young women out of having an abortion. More than 88 % of abortions are performed before the 12th week...not needing scissors..10% before 20 weeks..again no scissors...many early ones are done without anything but medication...and do not forget that miscarriages are considered abortions as well..are we responsible for those too? i really do want to be civil..but i am not a monster no matter what you think..you are certainly entitled to your opinion of me..i just don't have to give a damn what a closed minded..bigoted..reactionary..sexist..uninformed and self righteous man like you thinks. i would also like to know why you are spending so much time on a womens health network??!!?? in conclusion...think what you like..believe what you want..but please do not ever believe you or anyone has the right to tell me what to do when it comes to my reproductive rights..thats my rights..not yours..you don't have any because you can't get pregnant...sure makes having an opinion a whole lot easier.

My comment about putting a baby in a freezer or a dehumidifier is sick..sick..sick? So what's jamming scissors in the back of a baby's skull and sucking out his brains? Or pulling the baby apart limb from limb or burning him alive with saline solution? Is that not sick to you? What kind of monster are you, anyway? I was simply offering an analogy to your dumb remark that a baby should be able to be killed because he relies on temperature and humidity inside his mother.

The right to not be killed supersedes the right to not be pregnant. Since you "ladies" obviously believe women are too stupid to figure out how not to become pregnant, why does the preborn baby have to suffer for their mother's stupidity?