Mississippi's failed 'personhood' amendment: 3 takeaways
A proposal to define a fertilized human egg as a person was expected to pass in Mississippi, and radically alter the abortion debate. Why didn't it?
One of the biggest surprises of this week's off-year elections was the failure of Mississippi's controversial 'personhood' amendment, which would have defined a fertilized human egg as a person. Polls suggested the measure would pass easily in the strongly anti-abortion state. Instead, it lost 57 percent to 43 percent. What happened? Here, three lessons:
1. The anti-abortion movement is split
The "personhood" amendment would have passed if it had been a clear-cut matter of abortion rights advocates vs. anti-abortion activists, says Lauren Markoe of Religion News Service. But some anti-abortion groups, Christian leaders, and doctors opposed the amendment because of its potential to prohibit cancer treatment for pregnant women, block in vitro fertilization, ban common types of birth control and lead to other unintended consequences. Even outgoing Gov. Haley Barbour, who supported the amendment, expressed doubts. Anti-abortion advocates learned a lesson, says Thomas Peters at CatholicVote.org. "When we are absolutely unified and engaged, we can win. When we are not, we suffer setbacks."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
2. You can't always trust polls
Sometimes, people tell pollsters what they think they're supposed to say, not what they really believe, says Amanda Marcotte at Slate. In conservative Mississippi, "the religious Right has so much social control" that many people reflexively said they'd support "personhood." But left to decide for themselves in the voting booth, many citizens obviously changed their minds, and the holdout "undecideds" voted no, en masse.
3. The conservative surge is over
"Somebody needs to break the news to the Republican candidates looking to unseat President Barack Obama," says the Baltimore Sun in an editorial, "that the conservative tide that swept the nation in 2010 has receded." A short while back, when Republicans were riding high, right-wing activists might have gotten away with this. But "calling for strict limits on the reproductive rights of women won't necessarily play well in 2012."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Baltimore bridge disaster: Who is going to pay and how?
Today's Big Question Politicians, legal experts, and the insurance industry are all grappling with the financial fallout of America's worst infrastructure tragedy in years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Melting polar ice is messing with global timekeeping
Speed Read Ice loss caused by climate change is slowing the Earth's rotation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Week contest: Stick guitar
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Xi-Biden meeting: what's in it for both leaders?
Today's Big Question Two superpowers seek to stabilise relations amid global turmoil but core issues of security, trade and Taiwan remain
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published