Colorado Personhood Backers Turn in Petitions for Second Abortion Amendment
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 18, 2010
Denver, CO (LifeNews.com) — Backers of the personhood amendment in Colorado turned in what appeared to be enough signatures today to ensure the amendment will appear on the November ballot again. Though the first effort failed by nearly a 3-1 margin as other pro-life groups pointed out concerns, supporters are trying again.
The amendment defines unborn children as persons starting at conception and would draw an almost immediate legal challenge from pro-abortion groups.
Earlier this month, the Colorado Secretary of State evaluated the signatures backers of the personhood amendment submitted to get the proposal on the 2010 ballot.
Personhood Colorado leaders submitted only 79,817 petition signatures last month and the total was just 3,770 signatures more than the 76,047 required, or 5 percent above the limit.
The Colorado Secretary of State said 15,690 of the 79,648 signatures submitted by the group were invalid and gave the group 15 days to submit more.
Today, the group reports turning in 46,671 this afternoon and also said they are threatening to sue the Secretary of State for making them go back and collect more.
Should state officials qualify the amendment, Colorado voters would consider the amendment for the second time after first voting against it by a 73-27 percent margin in 2008.
The differences between the 2010 and 2008 versions of the amendment are minor, with language changed to say a person is a human being "from the beginning of the biological development of that human being" in lieu of "from the moment of fertilization."
Led by Dianne Irving, a faculty member at Georgetown University known for her expertise in bioethics issues, the change was made to include all unborn children, including test tube babies.
The 2008 version of the amendment, and this one, especially after the nearly 3-1 defeat at the polls in 2010, does not enjoy the support of many pro-life groups such as Focus on the Family, Colorado Citizens for Life, or the state’s Catholic bishops.
They say the amendment will certainly be overturned by the courts, according to the pro-abortion list of cases affirming abortion, and that a better way to stop abortions is to change the courts so Roe can be overturned and abortions can be prohibited.
Colorado pro-life advocates also suggest the money raised for the effort would be better spent on supporting pregnancy centers that can help women now to choose life instead of abortion and helping pro-life candidates for state and federal offices so courts can be changed and abortions stopped.
The amendment reads: "Section 32. Person defined. As used in sections 3, 6, and 25 of Article II of the state constitution, the term "person" shall apply to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being."
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