Fetal Personhood

Anti-choice organizations in Colorado have tried time after time to erode the underpinnings of legal abortion through legislation and initiatives that would elevate the legal status of a fetus, at any stage of development, to that of an adult. Such policies actually seek to criminalize all abortion services and potentially certain types of birth control, would allow for investigations into miscarriages and could endanger access to in vitro therapies. Colorado saw these efforts increase in 2008 with Amendment 48, the nation’s first “fetal personhood” ballot initiative and the establishment of the nationwide “Personhood USA,” an organization driving legislative and initiative fetal personhood efforts across the country. A second effort was attempted in Colorado in 2010. Both attempts were defeated with ~70% of the vote and did not receive a majority vote in any county in Colorado. And in the 2014 election, there was once again a ballot initiative (Amendment 67). In turn, every year anti-choice legislators introduce legislation that mirrors these dangerous ballot initiatives. PPVC has worked with a broad coalition of partners to defeat these dangerous ballot initiatives and bills to protect access to safe abortion services, contraception and in-vitro services for Colorado families.