Washington, DC (22 October 2009) – Nevada became the seventh state to launch a “personhood” initiative. The amendment reads simply:

“In the great state of Nevada, the term ‘person’ shall apply to every human being.”
The Nevada constitution states, “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” Currently, some Nevadans are deprived of their inalienable civil rights, specifically their fundamental right to live, due to an arbitrary and discriminatory distinction between person and human being. 
While the state has no authority to grant inalienable rights, it has the obligation to protect them.

This amendment therefore applies the term “person” to every human being. ‘Human being’ includes everyone possessing a human genome specific for an individual member of the human species, from the beginning of his or her biological development, without discrimination as to age, health, reproduction method, function, physical or mental dependency, or cognitive ability.

This amendment benefits all Nevadans by guaranteeing, as envisioned by our founding fathers, that no one shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. It eliminates discrimination against Nevadans at the beginning of life and prohibits state intrusion in end of life decisions.

This amendment codifies the inalienable right to life for everyone, young or old, healthy or ill, conscious or unconscious, born or unborn. It assures protection and dignity to our children, our infirmed and our seniors.

“We are thrilled the people of Nevada are finally taking steps to fulfill the dream of the civil rights movement,” said Judie Brown, president of American Life League.
“They are working for the fundamental right to human personhood, without which, no other rights exist. For the people of Nevada and the six other states pursuing personhood initiatives, this is about human rights and justice.”

As a citizen-led initiative, approximately 97,000 signatures are needed for the proposed amendment to get on the 2010 statewide ballot. Nevada joins Montana, Michigan, Colorado, California, Florida and Missouri.

Personhood Nevada, the group sponsoring the petition drive, is led by Richard Ziser, a human rights activist who recently led the successful campaign to define marriage in the Nevada Constitution as a union between one man and one woman.

“It’s time for the people of this country and the people of Nevada to demand that all human beings, from their biological beginning, be recognized and protected as persons under the law.”

American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: American Life League: Personhood http://all.org/personhood/
PersonhoodUSA: Personhood http://www.personhoodusa.com/