Legal Commentary

Colorado's Personhood Amendment

By Jeralyn

Colorado has 18 initiatives on the ballot this year, one of which is the dreaded Amendment 48, the Personhood Amendment. The Amendment reads:

"As used in sections 3, 6, and 25 of Article II of the state constitution, the term 'person' or 'persons' shall include any human being from the moment of fertilization,"

In other words, a fertilized egg would be deemed a person. The Denver Post, in an editorial today, urges voters to reject it.

The three sections mentioned are part of the state's Bill of Rights that protect our rights to life, liberty and property. Simply put, Amendment 48 asks that society grant a free-floating fertilized egg the same protections we enjoy as living Americans.

More...

The Post adds,

Medical and scientific experts set the start of pregnancy at the point a fertilized egg attaches itself to the uterus....Consider the fact that it is not unusual for a fertilized egg to naturally slip from the uterus without implanting. And even when implantation is successful, miscarriages often result in early stages of pregnancy.

The Amendment is an effort to defeat Roe v. Wade:

Amendment 48 is a mischievous attempt to ban abortion that would stand in clear contradiction to federal law. The debate over personhood was settled in 1973 by the Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision on whether states could outlaw abortions. The court defined a fetus as a person if it developed into the third trimester and said states could not ban abortions of fetuses until that late stage in a pregnancy.

Amendment 48, on its own, will be a powerful motivator for evangelicals to come out and vote. But it could also energize pro-choice voters.

Just another reason (in addition to the ones I just wrote about here) Colorado is a hard state to predict this year.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 22, 2008 (boomark / email).