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In their scramble to win favor with the socially extremist base of the Republican party, GOP Presidential candidates are swearing allegiance to the so-called pro-life agenda. Five GOP candidates have already pledged to support an amendment to the US constitution defining an embryo as a person if elected President in 2012. Ron Paul joined Michelle Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry in signing the pledge created by Personhood USA, but Paul’s signature was contested by the group over a caveat he inserted. While throwing his full support behind the “Human Life Amendment” Ron Paul wrote in his pledge that, in this hypothetical scenario, enforcement of “personhood laws” should occur at the state level. Personhood USA responded with an open letter to Paul asking him to commit to federal enforcement or risk a rejection of his pledge. While Personhood USA wants candidates to aim for federal legislation, the group has a state-by-state strategy for advancing its agenda through ballot initiatives that give a fetus the full rights of a citizen and equal to the women carrying it. Signature drives are poised to begin in California, Colorado, and Nevada on ballot proposals drafted by Personhood USA and other extremist groups. Nevada’s initiative was initially rejected by a judge who said the language was too vague. The judge inserted new language into the initiative description that explicitly stated a yes vote for personhood would prohibit abortion even when necessary to save the life of the mother, and even when the fetus would not survive birth, as in the case of a miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy. Looking back at the escalated assault on reproductive rights and access to reproductive health services by conservatives in 2011, Colorlines’ Akiba Solomon predicts 2012 will see “battles royale” across the nation, and she warns poor women and women of color stand to lose the most.

GUEST: Akiba Solomon, Gender Columnist for Colorlines.com

Visit www.colorlines.com to read Solomon’s work.