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State to vote on hot topic 'personhood' Amendment 48 defines person as fertilized egg August 16, 2008 By Ted Holteen | Herald Staff Writer Colorado voters will be presented with 19 different ballot initiatives in November, but it's likely none of them will be as hotly debated as Amendment 48, popularly known as the "personhood" amendment. Proponents of Amendment 48 want the state Constitution to define a person as a zygote, or fertilized egg. A petition drive in May collected 103,000 validated signatures, nearly 30,000 more than the 76,000 signatures required to put an initiative on the ballot. But, opponents of Amendment 48 believe that the proposed definition of personhood would have numerous consequences that could result in years of courtroom battles and restrict the rights of pregnant women. It would also, by definition, make abortion illegal. "It goes way too far," said Fofi Mendez, a partner in the Denver political consulting firm Mendez Steadman & Associates, who is campaign director for the "No on 48" campaign. Mendez and representatives from Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains were in Durango on Thursday as part of the statewide campaign. "We're talking about government interference in our personal lives applying to inalienable rights, due process and equal justice. This could impact thousands of laws," Mendez said. Mendez and other opponents say that granting the same rights to a fertilized egg as to the mother carrying the zygote could mean the end of stem-cell research and in vitro fertilization, because the fertilized eggs used in those processes would have full legal rights. They also claim it could be used to prohibit some medical treatments, especially cancer treatments, if radiation or chemotherapy may harm a fertilized egg. Amendment 48 was the brainchild of Peyton resident Kristi Burton, who is the founder of the pro-life organization Colorado for Equal Rights. In Southwest Colorado, the petition drive was headed by the group Lifeguard, and its executive director, Michaela Dasteel, downplayed the opponents' concerns. "Is it too far-reaching? How is restoring dignity and respect to all human beings too far-reaching?" Dasteel said. "I trust that in a democracy that when we amend the Constitution to define personhood at the point of creation that the laws that are passed to coincide with the Constitution be done with justice and mercy and not be Draconian. I can't see our state legislators passing a law that every woman who loses a pregnancy be investigated for criminal activity." Because the amendment would outlaw abortion, critics claim any pregnancy that ended short of a healthy birth could be interpreted as a homicide. It would also mean that Colorado law would stand in direct opposition to the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. For Vicki Cowart, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Amendment 48 is a national embarrassment. "It's so extreme and so deceptive that people say 'that's not what they meant' - but it's exactly what they meant," Cowart said of Colorado for Equal Rights' efforts to outlaw abortion in Colorado. "This is a concerted national effort, and they tried in Georgia and Montana and some other states but it didn't get on the ballot. We drew the short stick," Cowart said. Burton could not be reached for comment, but Dasteel said there is no deception at all, and she's not aware of any supporters of Amendment 48 who don't want to see it lead to the end of abortion in Colorado and elsewhere. She compared Roe vs. Wade to another historic Supreme Court ruling, the 1857 Dred Scott case, which temporarily upheld the antiquated decision that slaves of African descent were not considered people under federal law. "It was overturned because it was based on a premise that people weren't defined as human beings," Dasteel said. "That led to not only the end of slavery, but the end of a way of life in the South that was based on slavery." Amendment 48 is just that - an amendment - and if passed, the law will become a permanent part of the Colorado Constitution. Cowart said that means that no one, including the governor and members of the Colorado Legislature, could ever overturn the law and state attorneys could spend years or decades and countless millions of dollars defending the Colorado law against federal law whether they believe in it or not. "It's ridiculous, it's absurd - choose a word - but once it's done it can't be undone," Cowart said. Tara Friedman, who works under Cowart as the major gifts officer for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, said many absurd scenarios will be brought up during the next several months as debate continues about Amendment 48, but the issue at hand is no laughing matter. "I've heard people joke that this means a pregnant woman could drive in the carpool lane because now there would be two people in the car," Friedman said. "But it's not funny." Rayilyn Brown Director AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn