Vote NO on Personhood

The mid-term elections are less than a week away, and there are 2 states (CO and ND) that have Personhood initiatives on the ballot. What is a Personhood initiative? Well, to put it simply, it would give embryos the same rights and legal status as a regular "person". This has far reaching and negative implications for the infertility and loss community. If you live in either of these states, please vote NO.

I'm going to focus on the Colorado amendment because I grew up in Colorado and still have a lot of family and friends there. It is called Amendment 67 and this is how it will appear on the ballot:

"Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution protecting pregnant women and unborn children by defining "person" and "child" in the Colorado criminal code and the Colorado wrongful death act to include unborn human beings?"

Okay, that doesn't sound so bad...but it IS! Basically it gives constitutional rights to a fertilized egg. Think about that for a moment please. A fertilized egg would have legal rights under the constitution. So what does that mean exactly?

Well, this amendment would ban all abortions, even in cases of rape, incest, or medical necessity. It would make any pregnant women or healthcare provider liable if any pregnancy failed to result in a live birth. So if you had a miscarriage, you could potentially be investigated by the state for manslaughter. It would also restrict access to birth control, such as Plan B, IUD's, or other forms of birth control that would prevent a fertilized egg from implanting into the uterus.

It would also ban IVF due to the potential risk to the embryos. Can you even imagine this? IVF would be ILLEGAL.

Isn't this crazy? I can't believe that in 2014 we are dealing with these kinds of initiatives that threaten women's rights. This amendment will NOT protect pregnant women. It will limit women's rights and will cause more harm than good.

So please, if you live in Colorado or North Dakota, vote NO on these Personhood initiatives. They are wrong for women.

For additional details, please visit the links below:
Colorado Amendment 67
North Dakota Measure 1
Resolve #No2Personhood Campaign