Anti-Choice personhood measure cleared in Calif.
This causes problems for in vitro fertilization, morning after pills, procedures to remedy ectopic pregnancies, and other necessary women’s health measures.
Proponents of a measure that would ban abortions by giving equal rights to fetuses have been cleared to gather signatures in California, the secretary of state’s office said Friday.
The push comes on the heels of a similar effort rejected by voters in Mississippi earlier this month. Mississippi’s measure would have banned abortion, and could have deterred doctors from doing in vitro fertilization. It also could have made some birth control illegal.
Union City-based California Civil Rights Foundation must collect more than 807,000 signatures by April to qualify for the November 2012 ballot, the secretary of state’s office said.
The foundation’s president, Walter Hoye, is an Oakland pastor known for protesting outside abortion clinics. He said he launched a similar campaign in California in 2010, but it fell short of the required signatures.
“The more of this conversation that we have, the stronger the pro-life movement becomes,” Hoye said.