Mississippi to vote Tuesday on amendment declaring a fertilized egg a person
(CNN) — Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour came out in support Friday of an amendment to the state constitution that would define life as beginning at the moment of conception, saying that he cast his absentee ballot for the measure despite struggling with its implications.
“I have some concerns about it,” he said in a statement issued Friday, a day casting his ballot. “But I think all and all, I believe life begins at conception so I think the right thing to do was to vote for it.”
Initiative 26 would define personhood as “every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof.”
If voters approve, it would mean a fertilized egg has full legal rights as a person.
Also, there is no exception clause for cases of rape, incest or risk to women’s health in this measure.
