Utah lawmaker ends push for 'personhood' amendment

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Utah senator is dropping a push for a state constitutional amendment that would define life as beginning at conception.

Republican Sen. Aaron Osmond of South Jordan says in a Wednesday Twitter post that he's turning his focus to public education priorities.

The proposed amendment would have defined "personhood," which is when a fetus is considered a human being. They are aimed at banning virtually all abortions by defining life as beginning with fertilization.

Abortion opponents in at least 12 states are seeking to place "personhood" measures on the ballot this year.

The personhood movement is 0 for 3 so far. Referendums failed in Colorado in 2008 and 2010 and in Mississippi last November.

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