"PERSONHOOD" INITIATIVE JEOPARDIZES COLORADANS’ RIGHTS
Granting fertilized eggs the same rights as people could have far-reaching consequences DENVER (Jul. 18, 2007) – NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado strongly opposes a ballot initiative that would grant fertilized eggs the same rights as people. "NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado has grave concerns about the consequences, both intended and unintended, of this initiative," said Kathryn Wittneben, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado. "Although proponents of this measure have made it clear that their intent is to provide a legal foundation to challenge Roe v. Wade, we believe that giving fertilized eggs the same rights as people through our state’s constitution could have far-reaching consequences." In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Roe that an individual's constitutionally protected right to privacy extends to a woman’s decision to choose an abortion. "It's clear that a few activists who are out of touch with mainstream Colorado values are attempting to cash in on an anti-choice president’s ability to stack the courts with activist judges," Wittneben said. "By offering a legal challenge to the Roe decision, proponents of this measure hope to force the increasingly conservative Supreme Court to disregard longstanding legal precedent about Americans' right to privacy that was determined in Roe." "Colorado voters have a long history of rejecting measures restricting individual freedoms, which shows this initiative has no place in our state constitution," Wittneben said. "Should this measure make it to the ballot, Coloradans will have the choice to elect lawmakers who agree that women and their families have the right and freedom to decide whether and when to have a family, or to vote for politicians who want to clutter our constitution with measures that grant rights to fertilized eggs and lay the foundation to strip Americans of fundamental rights." The initiative is scheduled to be heard before the Colorado Initiative Title Setting Review Board at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado (NPCC) is the political action arm of the pro-choice movement in Colorado. NPCC has more than 30,000 supporters statewide and works to develop and sustain a constituency that uses the political process to guarantee every woman the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive health choices, including preventing unintended pregnancies, bearing healthy children and choosing legal abortion. ###For Immediate Release
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 Contact: Kathryn Wittneben
NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado
Office: 303.394.1973, ext. 12
kwittneben@ProChoiceColorado.org
| 
