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Last Updated: Oct 16th, 2008 - 13:33:17 |
It's not just a matter of abortion, said opponents of the "personhood" amendment who held their first official "No on 48" rally Sept. 10, at the Tivoli.
Amendment 48 would define a "person" to include any fertilized human egg and is seen by many as a means to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion and set precedent for women's reproductive rights.
At the rally, opponents slammed the initiative, saying it takes decision-making rights away from families and places their rights in the hands of courts and judges.
Holding signs emblazoned with "No on 48," a small crowd of mostly women cheered as a series of speakers voiced their concerns. If the initiative is passed, it might make some routine practices, such as prescribing certain birth control methods or in vitro fertilization, illegal.
Toni Panetta, of Littleton, came to the rally because she believes Amendment 48 takes away women's rights.
"Amendment 48 could impact the ability for women of all ages to make decisions about birth control," Panetta said.
Many in the crowd agreed with Panetta, including Amy Krupinski, of Denver, who feels the initiative is unclear and misleading.
Also at the rally were Ryan and Paula Osmond, accompanied by their 21-month-old daughter Claire, who was conceived after the couple underwent seven years of in vitro fertilization treatment.
Paula Osmond said that if Amendment 48 passes, it would change the entire landscape of reproductive medicine, especially concerning IVF.
"It creates legal uncertainties," Ryan Osmond said.
In vitro procedures would not be affected by the passage of the initiative, as "snowflake" adoptions already allow couples who have conceived and no longer need additional frozen embryos to donate them to other couples trying to have children, Kristi Burton, the 21-year-old author of the initiative, said.
Burton said establishing when life begins is an important issue in Colorado and the initiative would be a good way to start a dialogue on the subject.
"Our laws in Colorado aren't clarified," Burton said.
Getting the initiative onto the 2008 ballot was difficult for Burton, who works with Colorado for Equal Rights, a grass-roots anti-abortion movement.
Opponents of the initiative had originally complained that it dealt with more than one issue, which the state constitution forbids, requiring the Colorado Supreme Court to get involved.
After reviewing the amendment's language, the court unanimously ruled that the initiative only dealt with one issue, giving the go-ahead for proponents to begin collecting the required signatures to put it on the ballot.
More than 103,000 signatures were gathered by proponents, 27,000 more than were required.
Focus on the Family, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and more than 70 physicians nationwide have signed on in support of the initiative.
Planned Parenthood, the ACLU of Colorado and state Sen. Bob Hagedorn have all spoken out against Amendment 48.
Similar initiatives have failed in Mississippi, Montana and Michigan.
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