In the News: Colorado Supreme Court to Rule on Anti-Choice Ballot Initiative
The Colorado Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision on an anti-choice ballot initiative that would give fertilized eggs the same constitutional rights as minors and adults. The fringe anti-choice activists behind this initiative have made it clear that their aim is to make all abortion illegal in Colorado. They hope the initiative will spark a legal challenge to Roe v. Wade that could reach all the way to the United States Supreme Court. In addition to making abortion illegal, this initiative could also put a law on the books that would make it illegal for women to use the most effective forms of birth control - including the pill, injectibles like Implanon and Depo-Provera, IUDs like Mirena, the NuvaRing, and emergency contraception like Plan B. This initiative, which is riddled with disastrous and misleading consequences, clearly has nothing to do with “equal rights for eggs” and everything to do with stripping away the rights of Colorado women to make their own health care choices. Yet a state panel charged with vetting the titles of ballot initiatives allowed the measure to move forward and, in August, gave its anti-choice backers the green light to begin gathering signatures to qualify the initiative for the November 2008 ballot.
Since that August ruling, a group of pro-choice voters opposed to the initiative have put on the brakes by challenging the measure to the Colorado Supreme Court. They’ve argued that A) the initiative itself violates Colorado’s “single-subject” rule (which says that a measure may only deal with one topic), and B) that the title misleads voters as to the intent of the initiative. Now, the case is in the hands of the Colorado Supreme Court, which has heard the challenge and is expected to rule this month. We’ll be the first to let you know when the ruling comes down, and what the next steps are. Until then, please stand up against this and all other egregious assaults on reproductive freedom and health care in Colorado by volunteering with NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado.
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