COLORADO – Colorado residents have a chance to redefine prenatal life as a person in their Constitution. The amendment would change the definition of a “person” or “child” to include unborn human being. A group called Personhood Colorado collected 140,000 signatures to get Amendment 67 on the ballot for the November 4 election—53,895 signatures more than required. Previous attempts failed in Colorado in 2008 and 2010.
Amendment 67 is popularly known as The Brady Amendment. The name honors the son of Heather Surovik of Firestone, Colorado. Brady was killed when a drunk driver struck their car on July 5, 2012 while Heather was eight-months pregnant causing a miscarriage. The killing of Brady was not prosecuted because Colorado has no law to do so.
Colorado did pass a law in June of 2013 creating an offense for unlawful temination of a pregnancy with varying degrees. It did not, however, define prenatal life as a person as this amendment would do.
The ballot question reads:
Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution protecting pregnant women and unborn children by defining “person” and “child” in the Colorado criminal code and the Colorado wrongful death act to include unborn human beings?
A rally was held in Denver with both sides of the issue demonstrating for their side.
Keith Mason, president of the pro-life ministry Personhood USA, referred to the Unborn Victims of Violence act signed into law by George Bush in 2004 stating that the federal law never led to bans on abortions or contraceptives.
Nathan Woodliff-Stanley, the executive director of the ACLU of Colorado countered, “Personhood USA are the same people who sponsored ballot amendments that the people of Colorado rejected in 2008 and 2010 — they’re being disingenuous if they say that this isn’t just another attempt to accomplish the same thing.”
The issue is so hotly contested that Republican candidates Mike Coffman and Cory Gardner have both dropped support for the Amendment.
Colorado Republican George Leing who was seeking a seat in the House also distanced himself from the amendment. The Denver Post blog quotes him as saying:
“Just as many Democrats seem unwilling to oppose some of the extreme elements of their party, too many Republicans have succumbed to personhood’ advocates,” Leing said in a news release. “If Republicans, including pro-life Republicans, are to win elections statewide in Colorado, they must stand up to these efforts.”
In an appearance on The Doctors, OB-GYN Jennifer Ashton stated, “Obstetrically the data is crystal-clear, at about 24-weeks, give or take a couple of weeks, that fetus is considered viable—which means it can survive outside the mother.”
Heather Surovik on the doctors (Posted February 21,2014).