Colo. Personhood Ballot Measure Would 'Contradict Federal Law,' Should Be Rejected By Voters, Editorial Says

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 02 Oct 2008 - 11:00 PDT

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Colorado voters should reject a ballot measure titled Amendment 48, which would amend the state's constitution to define a fertilized egg as a person, a Denver Post editorial says, adding that if enacted, the measure would "usher in a host of legal problems" by asking "society to grant a free-floating fertilized egg the same protections we enjoy as living Americans." According to the editorial, Amendment 48 would "contradict the U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the meaning of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution" and "undoubtedly be rejected by the courts." Although medical and "scientific experts set the start of pregnancy at the point a fertilized egg attaches itself to the uterus," the amendment states that the "term 'person' or 'persons' shall include any human being from the moment of fertilization," according to the editorial.

"Amendment 48 would make killers of those who use many forms of common contraception," including emergency contraception often given to rape survivors, the editorial says. The editorial describes other "extreme and bizarre scenarios" that could result under the amendment, such as women who miscarry being subjected to "charges of negligent homicide." Also under the amendment, frozen embryos set aside during the process of in vitro fertilization "would have to be protected, as destroying them would be to engage in homicide," the editorial says. The editorial says that the amendment is "a mischievous attempt to ban abortion that would stand in clear contradiction to federal law." It concludes, "Amendment 48 is an inane flight of fancy, and we urge voters to treat it as such at the polls" (Denver Post, 9/29).

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