Colorado Measure Could Ban Abortion
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Laws increasing restrictions on abortion were passed at a record clip following the 2010 midterm elections, but seem to have cooled a bit as the 2012 election comes into focus. One organization in Colorado, however, wants to place the abortion discussion back on its state-wide agenda, and has, through a recent petition submission, slotted a measure on the state ballot that, if passed, would effectively eliminate abortion in the state.
The measure, submitted by the Colorado Personhood Coalition, seeks to ensure that any “intentional killing of any innocent person is prohibited.” In the measure’s language, a person is defined as “every member of the species homo sapiens at any stage of development.” As such, its passage would appear to eliminate all legalized abortion, including in instances of rape or incest.
CPC submitted a petition to the state legislature on Monday carrying over 121,000 signatures, nearly 40,000 more than was required.
The regulations would also prevent access to “birth control that kills a person,” as well as any medical treatment or assisted reproductive practices that offer the same result. Such banned birth control would include intrauterine devices, known as IUDs.
It is unclear, however, whether or not birth control would also be prohibited should the measure pass. The initiative is similar in language to a 2011 bill that failed in Mississippi, which, according to a Personhood USA spokesperson, would have either restricted or banned use of the birth control pill.