[Guest Post by Simon van Zuylen-Wood]

On November 8 Mississippians will vote by popular referendum to legally define the beginning of a person’s life “at conception.” Until now, there was a reasonable doubt that the pro-life-backed “personhood amendment” would never make it to the ballot, since Mississippi law forbids amending the state constitution by voter initiative. But today, hours before Mike Huckabee and Deanna (wife of Brett) Favre headline a pro-personhood rally in Jackson, the state Supreme Court ruled the amendment would appear on this year’s ballot.

For more on the personhood movement, see my recent article in TNR.