Video's Fictions Take on Unreality of Personhood

With early voting already underway in Colorado on a ballot measure that attempts to give fetuses equal rights to living humans, Choice USA released a sweet video, highlighting the absurdity of the measure.





The one-minute video uses a cartoony light focus to highlight serious dangers. Three brief stories depict soft-focus scenes of what it would mean for fetuses to have "personhood" rights, as the anti-abortion ballot measure 62 in Colorado now seeks. In the scenes, a pregnant woman is asked to pay double the share of a bill, buy two tickets to a movie and sign up for doubles rather than singles in tennis. The point is clear: it is nonsensical to give the fetus the same status as a living, breathing woman. In fact, the tag line is: "This video makes no sense; Niether do so-called personhood measures."

The video information links over to a HuffPo article by Kierra Johnson, executive director of the Washington DC-based Choice USA, who explains the problems with the measure. Pro-choice advocates urge a NO vote on Ballot Measure 62 in Colorado.

The personhood measure would outlaw abortion, many forms of contraception and even in vitro fertilization and other reproductive health care. It is the same as a measure soundly defeated two years ago in Colorado -- more than two-thirds of the people voted against it. (During that time period, Words of Choice toured the state to draw attention to the need to mobilize against this measure.) But the anti-abortion advocates came back again like a bad dream.

On RH Reality Check, Lynn Paltrow, executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women in NY, does an excellent job of taking apart the arguments of "fetal separatists," showing the real-world consequences of their efforts to gain dominion over women's bodies.

The video, with its tongue-in-cheek style, makes a great way to remind friends in Colorado to VOTE and to VOTE NO on 62.

By the way, if you want to see the totally outrageous things that the opposition -- that is, the people who want this law -- say, see this video. Then VOTE! NO on 62! And contact your friends!

Posted by Cindy Cooper
Above: Screen shot of Choice USA video

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