Contact: Dr. Patrick Johnston, Personhood Ohio, 740-453-9173

OHIO, Sept. 3, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Personhood Ohio is a group whose mission is to ensure equal protection for every preborn child's right to life. Their goal is to obey the Lord's command to love "the least of these" through ending the dehumanization and murder of preborn children in this state.

The group is collecting signatures for a petition to get a Personhood Amendment on the ballot so Ohioans can vote to protect ALL preborn human beings by law.

The Ohio Constitution, Article 1, Section 1 currently reads:

"All PERSONS are, by nature, free and independent, and have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and seeking and obtaining happiness and safety."

The Personhood Amendment would add this one sentence:

"The word 'person' or 'persons' applies to every human being at every stage of the biological development of that human being or human organism, including fertilization."

The first step is to get 1,000 signatures and submit the legal language of the amendment to the Ohio Attorney General's office for approval.

Director of Personhood Ohio, Zanesville family physician Dr. Patrick Johnston says, "We've had forty years of legal child-killing in America. Why haven't pro-life forces united to put the issue before the voters? Why do we continue to respect the immoral and unconstitutional Roe v. Wade decision? Ohio has the right and obligation to protect all innocent children within our jurisdiction. There will be no lasting mercy and blessing for us until there is justice for the preborn."

Personhood Ohio solicits volunteers through their website www.PersonhoodOhio.com.

They are aiming to get the amendment on the 2012 ballot.