Personhood Arkansas has made the first motions to attempt to get a constitutional amendment defining a fertilized egg as a person onto the state’s 2012 ballot, turning in amendment language to the attorney general for approval.

Via Arkansas News:

A group pushing for an amendment to the state constitution that would ban abortion in Arkansas says it has submitted proposed ballot language to the state attorney general.

If Attorney General Dustin McDaniel approves the language, the group Personhood Arkansas would have until July 6 to collect 78,133 signatures to place the measure on the November 2012 ballot.

The proposed amendment states, “No innocent person shall be denied the right to life. With respect to the right to life, the word ‘person’ shall apply to all human beings, including the unborn, at every stage of their development.”

It adds that it shall have no effect on “contraceptives or other methods of birth control that do not cause the death of a person, ” on “in vitro fertilization or other methods of assisted reproduction that do not cause the death of a person,” or on “medical treatment for life-threatening physical conditions intended to preserve life.”

The group claims that the extensive language is necessary to ensure that people understand that this bill would not affect birth control or IVF.  But if they define a person as the moment of fertilization, it would still have the effect of limiting various forms of birth control as well as how couples create embryos for infertility treatments.