Attempts to Amend State Constitutions to Define "Personhood"
The L.A. Times' Nicholas Riccardi reports on new efforts by antiabortion activists to amend state constitutions to define "personhood" as beginning at conception, thereby banning abortion, some contraceptive methods, and certain kinds of fertility treatments.
The Colorado Supreme Court last week cleared the way for advocates to begin collecting signatures to place a personhood amendment on the state's 2008 ballot. Activists in Michigan, Mississippi and Montana are gearing up to gather signatures as well. In January, the Georgia General Assembly will consider placing a constitutional amendment on its 2008 ballot. . . .
Any amendments that make it to the ballot will be voted on by a public that has expressed consistent support for allowing at least some abortions, especially during the first trimester, which is when 90% of U.S. abortions occur. . . .
Starting in the late 1980s, 10 states amended their constitutions to provide general protections for unborn life. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, implied in one case that the amendments did not trump its core holding that women have a legal right to end pregnancies.
Kristi Burton, a spokeswoman for the group promoting Colorado's initiative, said the organization hoped to mobilize voters through church networks. The strategy worked last year in Colorado for a ballot measure banning same-sex marriage.