Personhood Bills and Ballot Initiatives

RESOLVE opposes all Personhood initiatives and urges all Americans to VOTE AGAINST any anti-family legislation as it undermines access to safe and reliable infertility medical treatments. Click here to read RESOLVE’s Policy Statement on Personhood legislation, which includes a full explanation of how Personhood legislation and/or Amendments will impact people with infertility.

What is the difference between a Bill and a Ballot Initiative? 

A ballot initiative is an attempt to get an issue in front of voters in a state.   A Personhood Ballot Initiative would be an attempt to have voters in a state pass a Personhood Amendment or Initiative that would change a state constitution or amend state statutes defining when life begins.  Each state has its own process for how any initiative gets on a ballot in November. To date, the states listed here have Personhood ballot initiatives “in process”, meaning proponents of Personhood are following the procedures to get a Personhood Initiative on the ballot this November. At its core, a ballot initiative is taking a particular issue to the general public and letting them decide.   A Personhood bill is a bill introduced in the state legislature, either in the House or Senate or both, and must proceed along a specific process to get a final vote in the full House and Senate.  The bill would then need to be signed into law by the Governor.  A bill would only be voted on by the elected officials in a state and would not be open to public vote.

Personhood Bills have been introduced in 2 states.  Here is the status of each of these legislative initiatives in each state: