This fall, voters in three states will see anti-abortion measures on their ballots. The New York Times gives a good overview of all three in an editorial that opposed all the initiatives. We’ll be taking a closer look at each initiative, starting with Colorado’s Amendment 48.
When voters in Colorado head to the polls on November 4, they’ll be deciding whether their state constitution will be amended to recognize personhood from the moment of fertilization. Amendment 48 is “[a]n amendment to the Colorado constitution defining the term ‘person’ to include any human being from the moment of fertilization as ‘person’ is used in those provisions of the Colorado constitution relating to inalienable rights, equality of justice, and due process of law.” (Full text of the Amendment is here in PDF format.) Women’s groups around the country are opposing the Amendment, pointing out that if enacted, it will pit the rights of women against the rights of fertilized eggs and threaten women’s health, jeopardize access to birth control, and lay the foundation for outlawing all abortions. Even Colorado’s anti-choice Catholic governor Bill Ritter came out in opposition of the Amendment, saying that it “goes too far.”
More information on Colorado’s Amendment 48:
Protect Families Protect Choices coalition is leading the effort in opposition to the Amendment.
The Center for Reproductive Rights has a fact-sheet on the Amendment and its implications on women’s health (in PDF format).
