Mississippi voters rejected a proposal Tuesday that would have said life begins at conception – a measure that would have made not only abortion illegal, but some forms of birth control and would have sparked a national debate about women’s health.
More than 55 percent of voters said no to the “personhood” initiative, the Associated Press reported.
Had it passed, it would have set off a flurry of court battles, not least because it contradicts the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a legal right to abortion based on a woman’s privacy. Supporters of the initiative wanted precisely that.
But even some anti-abortion activists opposed the measure, fearing it went too far and would weaken the anti-abortion rights cause if struck down by the courts.
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