The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. For locals, by locals. Sign up today!
This year’s political déjà vu includes the rights of fertilized human eggs. Similar to a proposed 2008 amendment, an effort to essentially ban abortion will once again appear on the state ballot (via The Associated Press). The proposal would grant unborn fetuses human rights within the state constitution. Although the 2008 measure was overwhelmingly rejected by voters, organizers say this year will be different. For one, “We want to confront the media and the politicians with the undisputable evidence for the God-given right to life of every person,” says Doug Mcburney, a director with Personhood Colorado (via 9News). Campaigners say they will go door to door in hopes of connecting with voters here and in dozens of other states where similar proposals are on the ballot. But be clear about what is at stake.
“Despite its seemingly innocuous name, their true aim is to ban abortion, contraception, in-vitro fertilizations, and embryonic stem-cell research over narrow, fundamentalist Biblical interpretations of reproduction,” writes Wendy Norris at RH Reality Check. Meanwhile, has Colorado Congresswoman Diana DeGette become the nation’s leading lawmaker on the issue of abortion rights? The Associated Press investigates.