"Personhood" Bill

         The article, Virginia’s “Personhood” Bill is the Latest Front in the Culture War by Athena Jones (http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/19/politics/virginia-personhood-bill/index.html?hpt=us_c2), she discuses a bill that would give rights to unborn babies. Robert Marshall, a Republican in the Virginia State House, proposed the new “personhood” bill.  The bill would give unborn children rights at all stages of development the same rights as other people such as you and me.  The bill also states that the life of each human will begin at conception.

            Virginia is not the only state to consider options like this other states have begun to deal with this issue.  The House of Delegates has passed this issue, but the Senate has yet to pass it. The governor said that if the bill gets to his desk he will review it, but has not committed to signing it yet.

            Marshall says that this bill will not criminalize abortion, but others believe it is a step getting closer to making it illegal. He also says that he is not challenging the Supreme Courts decision that a woman has a right to an abortion, but it will be restricting it.  Others believe that the decision should still be left to the women and her doctor.

            In my opinion this bill is a really big issue in one hand it will protect the rights of unborn children, in the other it will eventually lead to the sacrifice of a women’s choice to choose. I think that the “personhood” bill is a good idea. I believe that people take life so lightly now we almost take it for gradient. I think that abortion should be left as a last resort option after adoption and other considerations. I can also see the other side of this bill as a woman if this bill passed I would be giving up part of my freedom. I would no longer have an option, I would have to do what the law told me, and so I can see why this bill is getting so much controversy.

            I think that the strengths of this article are that it shows a little bit of both sides of the article. It has pro-life supporters saying their piece and it also has pro-choice supporters stating their opinions that it is a women’s right to choose.  This article also predicts what will this bill will eventually lead to in the future, which is outlawing abortion.  In order to agree or disagree with this issue I would have to do more research in to the topic.