Bishop Gray of Mississippi opposes "Personhood Amendment"

Mississippi bishop Duncan Gray III has written that he cannot support the controversial pro-life proposition that will appear on next November's ballot in that state.

The so-called "Personhood Amendment" which amend the state's constitution to specify that all the legal rights, protections and privileges that the state can offer a person is conferred at conception, not at live birth.

He writes:

My dear friends,

My deep reservations about abortion and the death penalty grow out of my abiding belief in the sanctity of human life and the arbitrary nature of these actions. I am not, however, a pacifist in regards to war. I do believe... that some very serious moral decisions are not simply choices between good and evil, but rather in the case of two evils, choices between the lesser of two evils. Such is the complexity of human moral decision-making in a fallen world.

I appreciate the intentions of those who have supported Proposition 26, what has been called the Personhood Amendment. I share their passion for the sanctity of human life. However, I am gravely concerned about the unintended consequences of this legislation. The moral nightmares of doctors no longer able to give preference to saving the life of the mother in such cases as an ectopic pregnancy and the uncertain impact on in-vitro fertilization are real. Thus, the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Medical Association has announced that it cannot support this legislation.

The legal nightmares arising from this legislation are also very real. The word “person” is used over 9,400 times in the Mississippi Annotated Code and the implications for mass confusion and decades of legal challenges over every use of the term are staggering.

For their own reasons, Roman Catholic bishops in several states, including Mississippi, have said they could not support this particular legislation.

While I recognize the complexities of such moral decisions and the need for each of us to make our own informed and prayerful choices, you need to know that I share the aforementioned concerns about the unintended consequences of this legislation. Thus, I cannot support Proposition 26 on the November 8th ballot in Mississippi.

Please feel free to share this letter with whomever you wish.

Faithfully,

The Rt. Rev. Duncan M. Gray, III

Posted by Andrew Gerns on October 20, 2011 4:30 PM | |
Comments (4)

I am grateful for Bishop Gray's thoughtful leadership in this matter.

Posted by Lelanda Lee [TypeKey Profile Page] | October 20, 2011 5:24 PM

Bishop Gray's is a good letter. I'm thankful he spoke out against the "Personhood Amendment".

June Butler

Posted by GrandmèreMimi [TypeKey Profile Page] | October 20, 2011 7:46 PM

There's something seriously disturbed when a fertilized Homo sapiens ovum is a "person", but an adult chimpanzee isn't. Do we fetishize a certain kind of DNA, or do we look for what ACTUALLY makes life "human"---namely, sentience?

JC Fisher

Posted by tgflux [TypeKey Profile Page] | October 20, 2011 10:50 PM

"For their own reasons, Roman Catholic bishops in several states, including Mississippi, have said they could not support this particular legislation."

I am curious what those reasons are. I would have thought RC bishops would be entirely behind this.

Cullin R. Schooley

Posted by Apps 55753818692 1675970731 F785b701a6d1b8c33f0408 [TypeKey Profile Page] | October 21, 2011 11:27 AM

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