Mississippians on Tuesday rejected the initiative aimed at defining a human life as beginning at conception.

Strong opinions were expressed concerning Initiative 26 after the results were announced, with many people upset and others relieved.

“I wasn’t surprised at all with the outcome just because of the amount of coverage and how controversial it seemed,” said Erin Wasilewski, a representative for the Ole Miss College Republicans. “It bothered me that the initiative didn’t have preventative measures because I feel that’s very important.”

Although the College Republicans and the College Democrats supported different candidates for the governor seat, their views only slightly differed on the issue of Initiative 26.

“I’m very excited about the ‘no’s’ winning out on Initiative 26,” said Camille Lessieg, president of the Ole Miss College Democrats. “(It) was worded vaguely and was so ambiguous as to what the intention of this amendment to our constitution was supposed to even mean.”

Colorado-based Personhood USA, which helped bring the initiative to Mississippi, first tried in Colorado. It also put similar initiatives on 2012 ballots in Florida, Montana, Ohio and Oregon.

Supporters of Initiative 26 said this amendment would prompt a court challenge to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that established a woman’s legal right to abortion. However, opponents believed the initiative was not in the best interest of women.

“(Initiative 26) does not respect the autonomy of women and jeopardizes women’s health,” the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists said.

Oxford native Dale Barrios said he is happy with the outcome. Barrios said he believes the Personhood Amendment would have to go to the Supreme Court if it passed.

“This was a useless proposition; it was written by the wrong people,” he said. “It was stated wrong, and it should never have been in this general election.”

Throughout the weeks leading up to Election Day, rumors of the possible ramifications spread throughout Mississippi. Opponents said the initiative could make birth control illegal, which could include the morning-after pill and IUDs. It was also rumored to possibly deter physicians from performing in-vitro fertilization and would make abortion illegal in life-threatening cases, like ectopic pregnancies and cancer. The Personhood Amendment became less about Republican and Democratic party lines, and more an issue based on morality and opposition against an ambiguous initiative for some voters.

“I’m pro-life, and I think that life is precious no matter the circumstances,” said Katie Jenkins, a biology sophomore and Oxford native. “I voted based on what I believe, and that’s how I think people should vote, which is a great thing about living in a free country.”

Jameson Taylor, vice president of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, published a memo that attempted to clear up the ramifications of the initiative. The memo addressed to the public that abortions performed to save the life of a mother in cases such as ectopic pregnancy and cancer treatment would not be criminal. It also wouldn’t ban in-vitro fertilization, but the amendment could be used to justify outright destruction of embryos. However, this memo didn’t address the uncertainty that birth control pill would possibly be banned.

Taylor said one reason he thinks this amendment is effective policy is because he believes it’s a scientific fact that life begins at the moment of fertilization.

“If the amendment were to pass, one could envision that it would be brought up for review in the courts, and eventually in the Supreme Court,” Taylor said. “It would force the U.S. Supreme Court to finally answer that question, what is a person for the purposes of the law?”

Most state political issues are based on ideological beliefs. Oxonian Ace Atkins said this amendment was so controversial that those distinct party lines disappeared.

“The (initiative) has stirred up a lot of emotions and it looks like a lot of people who are against it have come out to make sure that it does not pass and to make sure their voices are heard,” he said.