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EXPLAINER: What’s the role of personhood in abortion debate?

FILE - Defenders of the Unborn founder Mary Maschmeier, sets up a table outside Planned Parenthood on June 24, 2022, in St. Louis. Most abortions are now illegal in Missouri following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended a constitutional protection for abortion. Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas and Missouri all have personhood laws. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File) FILE - In this photo from Friday, July 8, 2022, a sign in a yard in Olathe, Kansas, promotes a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution to allow legislators to further restrict or ban abortion. Supporters call the measure "Value Them Both," arguing that it protects both unborn children and the women carrying them. Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas and Missouri all have personhood laws. (AP Photo/John Hanna, File) FILE - Thousands of protesters march around the Arizona Capitol after the Supreme Court decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision on June 24, 2022, in Phoenix. The concept of personhood that underlies anti-abortion laws in some states considers fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses as people with the same rights as those already born. Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas and Missouri all have personhood laws. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File) FILE - People gather in front of the Georgia State Capital in Atlanta on Friday, June 24, 2022, to protest to protest the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Abortion rights supporters say personhood could hamper in-vitro fertilization or subject women who have abortions to murder charges. At least five states have adopted personhood laws or constitutional amendments. Georgia's law is the most extensive, granting tax breaks and child support to fetuses. (AP Photo/Ben Gray, File)