What is personhood and why is it so foundational to the pro-life movement? Put simply, a "person" is a human being who is fully protected under the law; and we use the legal term "personhood" to describe this condition. Once a human being is declared a person that individual is guaranteed certain legal rights, such as the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In other words, to be a person is to be protected by a series of God-given and constitutionally protected rights.
To better understand personhood, we begin by asking the fundamental question of when human life begins. Embryological science has made crystal clear that human life begins at fertilization: the union of an egg and sperm resulting in a unique, genetically distinct human being. The answer to the question of when human life begins is a biological one. The follow-up question is: "Is this tiny embryonic human being a ‘person' who is guaranteed the right to life?" In other words, should human beings from the moment of conception be protected in law as persons; as citizens upon whom full constitutional protections should confer? The answer to the question of personhood is a political/legal one. Once a preborn baby is declared to be a legal person, there simply can be no exceptions to his or her inalienable right to life; just as there are no exceptions to our right to life.
Believing that "it is never the will of the Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost" (Matthew 18:14), Personhood Wisconsin relies on God to change hearts and minds toward His most precious creation of human life. We believe that personhood is compelled by both natural and divine law, and we continually work toward the day when all babies in Wisconsin (no matter how they were conceived, what stage of development they are at, or whether or not they are in perfect health) are fully protected in our state.