Colorado Voters Reject Amendment Defining a Fertilized Egg as a Person

Washington, DC—Today, Colorado voters rejected Amendment 48, which would have redefined “person” in the state constitution and granted constitutional rights from the moment of conception.

“This amendment was nothing more than an attempt to outlaw all abortions in Colorado,” said Vicki Saporta, National Abortion Federation (NAF) President and CEO.

The so-called “Definition of Person” Amendment would have eliminated a woman’s right to make private health care decisions. In addition to outlawing abortion, the amendment was so far-reaching that it could have banned commonly used birth control methods like the pill, IUDs, and emergency contraception. Women suffering from illnesses such as cancer could have even been refused life-saving medical treatment because of the risks it might pose to a fertilized egg.

Leading lawyers, doctors, and even Colorado Governor Bill Ritter opposed this amendment. The Executive Board of the Colorado Gynecological-Obstetrical Society voted unanimously to oppose this ballot initiative citing that the “moment of fertilization is not a medical definition of pregnancy and as such represents inappropriate intrusion into the practice of medicine.”

“Amendment 48 was another attempt by abortion opponents to substitute political ideology for scientific evidence and the citizens of Colorado did not let them succeed,” said Saporta.