I will vote NO on Amendment 62

November is coming – and that means campaigning, elections, and voting, oh my! This is always one of my favorite times as we prepare ourselves for national improvement, and yet, this year, there is a dark cloud circling overhead. Personhood Colorado has put Amendment 62 on our state ballot. This initiative would amend the Colorado Constitution to state that “the term ‘person’ shall apply to every human being from the beginning of biological development of that human being.”
Now, the first time I read the language of Amendment 62, I had to re-read it several times. It is poorly written and confusing. However, after careful and diligent analysis, I realized that this amendment, although slightly reworded, is 2008’s Amendment 48! It’s the same proposition with the same horrible consequences. If Amendment 62 passes, it could ban abortion. This includes abortion in cases of rape, incest, and when the health or life of the woman is at risk. If passed, this amendment could ban the Pill, IUDs, and other forms of safe, effective birth control. It could make in-vitro fertilization illegal. It could stop all forms of stem-cell research. It would be catastrophic to allow a group of extremists to rewrite the state constitution, and by doing so, impact many facets of the law and important life decisions people make every day.
As a young woman, I am passionately and firmly against Amendment 62. I am pro-choice. Being pro-choice does not mean that I am anti-family or anti-child. It simply means that I support each individual’s choice and right to have self-determination over her/his body and fertility. Who am I to judge what is right for another person? It is not my body, not my circumstance, not my life. Therefore, I support the right to chose what is best for each person in their own circumstances. If a woman wants to have an abortion, that is her decision. If she wants to carry her pregnancy to term, that is her decision. Such decisions should not be made by radical groups who believe that they know what is best for everyone in this great nation and have the audacity to try to press their beliefs upon us through force of law.
Proponents of Amendment 62 wish to ban abortion, and yet, their proposed initiative could make many forms of birth control illegal. Without access to legal, safe, and effective forms of birth control, the number of abortions is going to increase dramatically. The Pill is one of the most popular, common, and effective forms of contraception in America. According to a 2008 study conducted by the Guttmacher Institute, of the 62 million sexually active women between the ages of 15 and 44, 62 percent are using a form of birth control. Why on earth would the proponents of Amendment 62 wish to eliminate this? This amendment could also ban in-vitro fertilization. I know so many couples who have used IVF and are now thrilled parents because of it. Why take away that joy?
The possibility of Amendment 62 passing has me incredibly unnerved and frightened, but most of all, mad. Every woman deserves to have choices and options; the decisions they make with their doctor and family should not be dictated by a group of extremists who think impregnated victims of rape should be forced to see the “good” in their situations, or who think that the Pill should be illegal, or who think that stem-cell research and the life-saving knowledge rendered from it should be banned. Amendment 62 simply goes too far.
I am strong in my beliefs. I am convinced we will win in the argument over the “definition of person” initiative. I will vote NO on Amendment 62.