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A ballot initiative defining a fertilized egg as a person will appear on the November ballot. On Thursday, the Secretary of State certified more than 103,000 signatures, far more than the 76,000 needed. If passed the initiative would be added to the Colorado constitution.
The proposed amendment is just one sentence long. It states, "the terms 'person' or 'persons' shall include any human being from the moment of fertilization. Critics say the language is far too simple. but proponents say that's exactly the point.
"We do believe that every person needs to be protected no matter how small," said Kristi Burton, sponsor of the Personhood Amendment. She hopes it will mean an end to Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, and lay the groundwork for a fetal homicide law.
She says the initiative is short for a reason. "Definitions should be simple. When we make definitions pages long, that's when they're hard to interpret," she said.
"Its so vaguely written that its deceptive and dangerous," said Katie Groke Ellis, spokesperson for Protect Families, Protect Choices. She says the proposal could have far-reaching consequences for women's health and birth control.
"If a birth control affects fertilization, it could potentially be banned by this amendment,' she said.
She says it could also ban in-vitro fertilization, medical research, and more. "If you're, you know, a cancer patient, some treatments might be difficult. Anything that could endanger a fetus would be outlawed."
"that's a scare tactic," said Burton. "They are trying to distract from the real issue, which is 'when does life begin?' The opposition does not have an answer to that."
Burton says courts would have to balance the interests of two lives.
"Certainly when a mother's life is in danger, her life is just as valuable as an unborn child's life, and that is definitely going to be taken into consideration," she said.
While federal law would trump this state amendment, Burton argues it would make the case for overturning Roe vs. Wade, because part of the written opinion states, "The constitution does not define a person," but that if personhood is established, the case for abortion collapses.
