“We Did It! We Did It!” Personhood Defeated in Mississippi

Posted by: Barbara Collura at November 8, 2011
Category: Mississippi Initiative 26

Those were the words spoken by Mississippi mom, overnight media darling, and brand-new grassroots advocate Atlee Breland. She just got off the phone with Renee Whitley, RESOLVE’s Advocacy Committee co-chair, on the amazing win for the “No on Initiative 26” campaign.

The “No” vote by Mississippians emphatically declared that Personhood, the movement to declare a fertilized egg a person, would not happen in Mississippi.

We wrote about Atlee in a previous blog – she’s a Mississippi mom who conceived her children through infertility treatments. Atlee saw the threat that Initiative 26 posed to infertility treatments in Mississippi and in just a few weeks she formed a grassroots organization, created a website, produced a viral video, created thousands of flyers, yard signs, and billboards (see photo below), and even managed to get the best online pop-up ad I have ever seen on the “Top News” section of the Clarion-Ledger, the biggest newspaper in Mississippi.

She was against Initiative 26 and any attempt at Personhood happening in her home state. Behind the scenes Renee Whitley and RESOLVE supported her efforts, helped with media interviews, and talked through the political nuances of Personhood.

Dr. Randall Hines, a reproductive endocrinologist in Mississippi, cancelled patient appointments and spoke at news conferences, then fielded interviews from every news outlet in Mississippi. He is a tireless fighter for the rights of the infertility community. Many doctors, nurses, and patients also spoke out against Initiative 26. Not to mention the support of every medical organization and many religious leaders.

Barbara Collura with Dr. Preston Parry (L) and Dr. Randall Hines (R)

This is such a huge victory for grassroots advocates. Just two months ago, polling showed Initiative 26 would pass by 80% of the vote. It is no secret why Personhood USA targeted Mississippi for this ballot initiative – they thought they could win. This did not scare anyone who cares about people with infertility.

Will this put the "personhood" movement to bed? That's a question for another day. For today, we are just thankful for the incredible effort that succeeded in protecting infertility patients in Mississippi - and succeeded beyond our hopes.

We want to thank all the bloggers, the news outlets, the websites, the commentators, the Op-Ed articles, the many Facebook posts, and the Tweets that have brought attention to Initiative 26. We want to cheer and thank the people of Mississippi for voting NO on November 8, 2011, on Initiative 26. You are our Heroes!

FYI: RESOLVE’s web content on Mississippi Initiative 26 became one of the most comprehensive “Resources” list anywhere on the Internet, read more here.

Barbara Collura is the Executive Director for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. She can be reached at bcollura@resolve.org or 703.556.7172.