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Amendment 48:
Definition of a Person


Summary

On January 22, 1973, the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision made abortion legal in all 50 states. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Byron White, a Colorado native, wrote, “With all due respect, I dissent. I find nothing in the language or history of the Constitution to support the Court's judgment.

Justice White later wrote in his dissenting opinion, “The Court apparently values the convenience of the pregnant mother more than the continued existence and development of the life or potential life that she carries.”

Science has finally verified what Justice White intimated in 1973 and what millions of Coloradans know now, that life begins at the moment of fertilization.

The Colorado Personhood Amendment has a very simple, easy-to-understand scientific basis that asks, “Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution defining the term “person” to include any human being from the moment of fertilization as “person” is used in those provisions of the Colorado constitution relating to inalienable rights, equality of justice, and due process of law?”

Position:  Vote YES
Provided by: Legislative Council of the Colorado General Assembly
Amendment 48 proposes amending the Colorado Constitution to:

  • define the term "person" to "include any human being from the moment of fertilization"; and

  • apply this definition of person to the sections of the Colorado Constitution that protect the natural and essential rights of persons, allow open access to courts for every person, and ensure that no person has his or her life, liberty, or property taken away without due process of law.



Amendment 48 ensures that all human life, beginning with the moment of fertilization, is afforded fair and equal treatment. Currently, these rights are not given until birth. Amendment 48 recognizes that a new human life is created at the moment of fertilization and gives all human life, whether born or unborn, equal rights and protections.

Amendment 48 gives clear direction to the courts and the legislature about who is considered a person. Because the bill of rights does not currently contain a definition of the term "person," interpretation of the word is subjective, which may lead to the rights granted by the constitution being inconsistently applied. The measure ensures uniform application of the term "person" under the law.

The measure may establish the legal foundation to end the practice of abortion in Colorado. The U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the U.S. found that the unborn were not included in the word "person" as used in the U.S. Constitution. If each human life, from the moment of fertilization, is recognized as a person under Colorado's bill of rights, Amendment 48 may provide support for legal challenges to prohibit abortions in Colorado.

RMFC position:
VOTE XX
Vote NO
RMFC position:
Vote YES