Personhood is sexy. It’s flashy. It gets attention. That is why Personhood is something that Kansans for Life is avoiding. The thought of a popular vote on the declaration of “egg-as-person” status makes them kinda squeamish and scared. That’s because the majority of people, whether they be Mississippians, Kansans or Coloradans are opposed to this kind of out-of-touch, whack-job nonsensical fanaticism.

No, Kansans for Life would just as soon carry on with their “slow and steady wins the race” legislative strategy. They prefer the pursuit of legislation that will fly under the radar, in stealth like commando fashion. No hoopla, no parades or flashy gimmicks. Just good ol’ fashioned elimination of abortion access, one itty-bitty restriction at a time.

They had been hoping that the abortion-addicted masses would just wake up one day and give up. That women would finally be unwilling to surmount the obstacles that had been so painstakingly crafted to act as obstacles between their selfish desire to not be pregnant any more and the procedure that would make that possible. Finally, unwilling to swim the moat, storm the gates, fill out the paperwork, wait 227 hours and walk over burning hot coals, then have their private medical records sorted through, scrutinized and then broadcast over television and radio airwaves, those abortion addicts would just give up. The restrictions enacted would finally prove to be too much and would deter those dirty, dirty abortion-consuming charlatans.

But this plan just didn’t work out! Women were still getting abortions in Kansas! There were 8,338 in Kansas in 2010. Although this was the lowest number since 1988, this was 8,338 too damn many for them. So this year…this year…they have decided to set forth on a new path of gestational glory with a “Life Begins at Conception Declaration”.

House Bill 2579 does, indeed, declare that life begins at “conception.” The legislation goes on to state, “the natural parents of unborn children have protect-able interests in the life, health and well-being of the unborn children of such parents.” This appears to be an attempt to solidify “fatherhood rights” into Kansas law, “fatherhood rights” being the impregnators right to keep the impregnate-ee from obtaining an abortion.

The bill goes on to explain that this “life at conception” is subject only to the US constitution and “decisional interpretations of the United States Supreme Court”. This reads as one big, giant, anti-choice S-E-T U-P. The set up being, to solidify this “conception declaration” into law as a vehicle to invite litigation on any past, present or future abortion legislation produced by the state of Kansas…oh, and to completely eliminate abortion at all stages….well, duh.

This legislation is sort of a “backdoor personhood” effort. It is the stealth-like manner of achieving abortion-blocker, hail Mary glory. It is, indeed, a very sad state of affairs that a popular vote in the state of Kansas could act as a tool to save contraception and abortion within the state of Kansas. A popular vote could save our constitutional right to privacy, whereas the representative body elected at least in part, to protect Kansas citizens (even the women folk) and pass legislation that is expected to meet constitutional muster, simply cannot be relied upon on either count. Instead, the women of Kansas find themselves at the mercy of a fanatical element of Kansas society today…their very own elected officials.