Supreme Court Denies Personhood Appeal in Oklahoma
The US Supreme Court refused to hear a case on Monday brought on by the anti-abortion group Personhood Oklahoma, rejecting its attempt to challenge the Oklahoma court's ruling against a proposed Personhood ballot measure in the state. The "personhood" amendment, which has also appeared (and was subsequently defeated) in states like Colorado and Mississippi, defines personhood under state law as beginning at the moment of fertilization. This would grant fertilized eggs the same constitutional rights as a person, and would serve to ban abortion, and could also outlaw emergency contraception, IUDS, invitro fertilization, and stem cell research.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court had ruled in April that Personhood Oklahoma's proposed ballot measure would violate the constitution, saying that states must abide by the Supreme Court's ruling that abortion is legal. The Supreme Court, by denying the group's appeal, deferred to the decision made by the lower court.
President of the Center for Reproductive Rights Nancy Northrop said in July when the group petitioned the Supreme Court, "The proponents of this measure have made explicit the ultimate objective of the anti-reproductive rights movement: to strip all Americans of their constitutional right to make their own decisions about whether and when to have children. [...]The scope of the fundamental rights and longstanding court precedents under attack by the opponents of reproductive rights is stunning."
Personhood groups failed to get enough signatures for the Colorado and Florida ballots in the November election.
Media Resources: ThinkProgress 10/30/12; The Hill 10/29/12; Feminist Daily News 7/31/12 and 5/7/12
5/22/2013 Immigration Reform Bill Advances In Senate - Last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration reform bill in a bipartisan vote of 13 to 5. . . .
5/22/2013 Afghan Women Arrested for 'Moral Crimes' Increases 50% - A new report by the Human Rights Watch shows that in the past 18 months the number of women in Afghanistan incarcerated for 'moral crimes' has increased from 400 to 600, a 50% growth.
Many of the women imprisoned for moral crimes were arrested running away from forced or abusive marriages and families, even though there is no law against leaving. . . .
5/22/2013 Army Commander Suspended for Adultery Amid Wave of Sexual Assaults - On Tuesday, Brigadier General Bryan T Roberts was suspended from his position as commander of the Fort Jackson, South Carolina training camp which trains approximately 60% of incoming female recruits pending an investigation into allegations of adultery.
Roberts was suspended following allegations of "adultery and a physical altercation." Colonel Christian Kubik, an Army spokesperson for the Training and Doctrine Command, told reporters "We don't have any evidence of any sexual assault. . . .
