COLORADO VOTERS AFFIRM STATE’S PRO-CHOICE VALUES IN 2008 ELECTION
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
For Immediate Release Contact: Toni Panetta NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado Office: 303.394.1973, ext. 17 COLORADO VOTERS AFFIRM STATE’S PRO-CHOICE VALUES IN 2008 ELECTION Voters return pro-choice majorities to Colorado’s Legislature, resoundingly reject Amendment 48 DENVER (Nov. 5) – In a resounding affirmation of Colorado’s pro-choice values, voters resoundingly defeated Amendment 48, the dangerous and far-reaching “Definition of Person” amendment, and elected pro-choice majorities to both chambers of the General Assembly on Election Day. According to preliminary results, Coloradans elected 36 pro-choice candidates to the state House of Representatives and 14 pro-choice candidates to the state Senate – bringing that chamber’s pro-choice majority to 21 when the Legislature convenes in January. NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado Executive Director Emilie C. Ailts said, “With these election results, Coloradans delivered a clear mandate regarding reproductive rights and reproductive health care this year: They expect policymakers to reject divisive attacks on a woman’s right to abortion. Instead, Coloradans want policymakers to pursue common-sense, common-ground solutions to ensure Colorado women have access to the full range of reproductive health care services they may need over the course of their lifetime. As co-chair of Protect Families Protect Choices, NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado was an early leader of the coalition of more than 80 organizations that worked to defeat Amendment 48. Through its Choice Vote ’08 campaign, NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado mobilized more than 125,000 pro-choice Coloradans to vote pro-choice up and down the ballot. As a result, Colorado voters elected 46 of the 64 pro-choice candidates endorsed by NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado's Political Action Committee (PAC); rejected Amendment 48 by a three-to-one margin; expanded the pro-choice majority in Colorado’s Congressional Delegation; and contributed to the election of pro-choice President-Elect Barack Obama. 2008 marks the third continuous election cycle that Coloradans elected pro-choice majorities to both the state Senate and the state House of Representatives. "As Colorado voters are faced with clear choices on candidates’ positions on reproductive rights and reproductive health care policy, they consistently vote for people who share a commitment to freedom and privacy," said Toni Panetta, political director of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado. “Coloradans are clear in their desire to be represented by policymakers who share the fundamental belief that important life decisions should be made by individuals, their doctors, and families – not the government. Clearly, it’s time to ensure Colorado women and their families have the tools and resources they need to make responsible, informed decisions to prevent unintended pregnancy, bear healthy children, or, if necessary, access safe, legal abortion.” NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado (NPCC) is the political leader 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. ###
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