Mississippi Wins Freedom for Infertility Treatment

 

In 1961 the Mississippi Freedom Riders rode the bus for civil rights. Now 50 years later Mississippi has won infertile women the right to have a baby by voting down Proposal 26. Mississippi Initiative 26, “personhood legislation,” declared that a fertilized egg is a person. This ruling would have put an end to infertility treatment. A doctor would be subject to arrest for performing an IVF procedure if the fertilized egg died in the petri dish or did not implant in the woman’s uterus. A doctor also could be charged for murder as the next Dr. Kevorkian if he discarded non-viable fertilized eggs or donated them for research. If a woman froze her fertilized eggs, she could be guilty of child abuse. If she donated them to an infertile woman, they would have to be legally adopted since they would already be babies. Then the donor egg recipient/adoptive mother also could be liable for arrest if her womb was judged to be suboptimal and she miscarried the baby. Mississippi was victorious! But the fight, spearheaded by RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, for the right to have a baby continues as personhood legislation is introduced in other states. Band together now and take action to defeat other motherhood denying decrees.