Hooray for the Magnolias

Mississippi voters rejected an amendment to the state constitution that would have defined life as starting at conception, and outlawed abortion and many forms of birth control if passed.

"I think voters rejected a measure they understood to be dangerous," said Felicia Brown-Williams with the Mississippi for Healthy Families Campaign. "They really tried to manipulate values around faith and family."

If the amendment 26, or "Personhood," had passed Tuesday, it would have re-opened the national debate on abortion. Court challenges would have set the measure on a path for the U.S. Supreme Court and a showdown in the far right's mission to overturn Roe V. Wade.

"We are not conceding because we did our duty," said Les Riley, a Mississippi citizen and a petitioner of amendment 26. "We have obeyed God ... it is not tolerable that they kill children."
~ from Mississippi Voters Reject Anti-Abortion Initiative by Rich Phillips ~

I gotta tell you, I am stunned by this result. The State of Mississippi is about as conservative as they come. I mean, we're talking Bible Belt conservative. I had just assumed that this measure would pass easily and yet it was defeated.

This does not bode well for the supporters of this kind of warped legislation. If they can't convince conservative voters in one of this nation's most conservative states, what chance do they have in the rest of the country?

Good on you, Mississippi! Good on you!