larger view

A pro-life movement had flown under my radar until yesterday when World Net Daily gave top billing to a report about efforts under way in 32 states to enact a statute or amend the constitution to define fetuses as persons in an attempt to outlaw abortion: http://www.wnd.com/index.ph... The most telling passage:

According to the movement, if every unborn baby is defined as a person, each baby will be legally guaranteed the same right to life as all Americans.

"We believe – and a lot of the justices on the Supreme Court agree with us – that there is no right to privacy that would allow abortion," Garcia Jones said. "Since it's not mentioned directly in the 14th Amendment, we could use the 10th Amendment and the states' rights to police themselves and to pass laws regulating morality and health and safety to regulate abortion so it's not permitted. Basically it would be treated the same way as a homicide, where a state can regulate how they punish it and how they try to prevent it, but they could never allow it."

Tonight I went to a celebration marking the last day of the 40 Days for Life campaign at the Lifesavers Ministry across the street from the local abortion clinic. It was well-attended, so much so that the street was blocked off. A good time was had by all, with a free barbecue served up by my fellow Knights of Columbus from another parish, powerful testimonies and music. A booth was set up to sign up folks for the next 40 Days campaign in the spring during Lent as well as to recruit signature gatherers to get the petition to amend California's Constitution to establish personhood on the ballot: http://personhoodcalifornia...

Such initiatives have been launched only in seven states so far, with Nevada being the latest one, but more should quickly follow. I'd guess the odds of success would not be good, but I could pleasantly be proven wrong. The Catholic bishops haven't been exactly supportive of the personhood movement, but neither have they frowned on individual Catholics working for its passage: http://www.lifesitenews.com... The bishops, however, were given hell by a fiesty pro-life giant:

"It's a political, gutless position," said Judie Brown, president of the American Life League, in a report by the Denver Post. "As a Catholic, it's the most scandalous thing I've ever heard. I can't believe that any bishop wouldn't want to be out in the front lines helping the petitioners. The sanctity of life is a fundamental teaching of the Catholic Church."

Perhaps the caricature of Catholic priests carrying out inquisitions against women explains their being gun-shy on abortion. Thankfully Judie won't put up with such nonsense.

Considering the resounding successes of restricting marriages to one man and one woman, it's only natural that right-thinking folks progress to another issue of profound importance, one that would fulfill the dream of the civil rights movement.