Yesterday, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul via webcast spoke at a forum in South Carolina, hosted by Personhood USA, to discuss birth control, abortion, and the personhood amendments, which may appear on many state ballots. Mitt Romney did not attend the forum due to a prior commitment.
Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul have all signed an extreme anti- reproductive rights and health pledge indicating that they support state constitutional personhood amendments, which would give constitutional rights to a fertilized egg. The personhood amendments could also ban emergency contraception, birth control pills, and IUDs the amendment as well as all abortions, even in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. It could even eliminate medical choices for women like some cancer treatments, and in vitro fertilization. Santorum has even gone so far as to indicate that he is opposed not only to abortion but wants to repeal Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and allow states to ban birth control access.
Although Romney did not sign the Personhood USA pledge, he has indicated in an interview that he also supports “life” from the moment of conception.
Florida Independent 1/19/12; Rachel Maddow Show 1/18/12; BBC 1/18/12; Feminist Daily Newswire 1/9/12
