Contact: Les Riley, Personhood Mississippi, 662-760-8695

MEDIA ADVISORY, Jan. 31, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Personhood Mississippi has received endorsements from leading pro-life Democratic legislators including Speaker Billy McCoy. The Democratic endorsements are further evidence that the effort to pass Amendment 26 is not a partisan, politically motivated effort, but rather a growing movement with broad based support to protect unborn children and their mothers.

House Speaker McCoy (D-Rienzi), in noting that he has always been pro-life, gave a written statement that included a strong affirmation of the goals of Personhood Mississippi to "amend the Constitution to provide a definition of the term 'person'." Speaker McCoy continued, "That term is defined to include every human being from the moment of fertilization. This definition corresponds to my personal pro-life beliefs."

Also giving life affirming endorsements of Amendment 26 were Senators Nickey Browning (D-Pontotoc) who said he had "always been pro-life" and Eric Powell's (D-Corinth) statement of "I'm with you."

Senator Powell also stated that he believed the amendment would pass overwhelmingly.

Amendment 26 Sponsor and Personhood Mississippi Founder Les Riley of Hickory Flat expressed gratitude for the bi-partisan support: "This is not about Democrats, Republicans, or Independents. Ours is a grassroots, volunteer-led non-partisan organization of around one thousand churches and thousands volunteers from across the state. These supporters share the common goal of stopping abortion; protecting women and children; reestablishing the rule of law and equal rights; and challenging unjust court rulings."