A proposed Colorado constitutional amendment would define a fertilized human egg as a person. The Egg-As-Person amendment is set for a vote for November — a ballot initiative that could drive religious voters to the polls to the advantage of John McCain.
The proposed amendment received estimated 103,000 valid signatures — it only required 76,000.
Backer Kristi Burton of Colorado for Equal Rights insists that “Science is on our side.”
The ballot language reads as follows:
Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. Article II of the constitution of the state of Colorado is
amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION to read:Section 31. Person defined. As used in sections 3, 6, and 25 of
Article II of the state constitution, the terms “person” or “persons”
shall include any human being from the moment of fertilization.
If adopted, the measure could have obvious problems for stem cell research and other forms of research. (For full disclosure, I support stem cell research, click here and here). Moreover, it would create some interesting issues in the criminal law. States already prosecute the death of an unborn child as a separate murder count in cases where a pregnant women is killed or harmed. The amendment would suggest that the destruction of a fertilized egg with intent could be murder. It would obviously also raise serious constitutional questions as the new definition of a person collides with the right to choose in the courts.
For the full story, click here.
Like Rafflaw I had forgotten about the Dobson/Colorado connection, good catch RB. The only other point I’d make, since I agree with so many of the comments is to underline Susan’s comments about the “Left Behind” series. Although I’m Jewish, I know enough about Christian Biblical scholarship to know that the relationship of The Book of Revelations to either The Gospels, or Paul is quite tenuous. It was written at least 150 years later than the Gospels and Paul, in a style completely different and expressing a contrary theology. Its inclusion in the Christian Canon is dubious and probably a result of Constantine trying to shape Christianity towards the warlike philosophy of the Roman State, rather than paying heed to the teachings of Jesus. Today’s pseudo-Christians love to use its fire and brimstone to scare the hell out of people, the better to control them.
rafflaw,
I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to make condoms illegal,except for Republican Senators, who are not gay and have never been gay!
That is priceless!!!
P.S. Why not offer a free Lonely Planet guidebook, “The Skinny on Airport Bathrooms Around the World” with every 1000 purchase?
FlamingLiberal,
I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to make condoms illegal,except for Republican Senators, who are not gay and have never been gay!
Jill and Susan,
You are both right that the Religious Right want to be the American Taliban. That is the result when that separation line between Church and State is crossed. The religious right want the laws to be based on the Bible. If you are Jewish or a Muslim, or agnostic or athiest, tough luck! George W. Bush has been pushing this angle hard from day one of his regime. God help us if they succeed and we have the Rev. Hagee’s and the Dobson’s of the world making the laws. Of course, I don’t know whose God would help us at that point!
Sure hope Coloradans can get the tax deduction for the little nippers as well as have a Social Security number assigned at “conception.” And just who will determine when that is? And does this mean that condoms are the only legal form of birth control? Inquiring minds want to know.
Susan,
I totally agree. Some people are always more equal than others. Jeff Sharlet’s, “The Family” makes the christian right agenda, both the elite and the popular version, absolutely clear. What an ugly vision these people have in store for the rest of us.
I met a man who designs weapons in CO. He was the living embodiment of the “sturch’s” (elision of church and state) christian warrior. I’ll never forget that encounter.
Rafflaw, I’m convinced that the so-called “christian right” doesn’t want any part of the real world, it wants an entirely different one. Like the nightmare visions conjured up by the LEFT BEHIND christian horror fantasy book series and THE HANDMAID’S TALE by Margaret Atwood, for example. Now those are “revelations” the christian right would love to see come true. A religious totalitarian state, with human rights for NO ONE. Except those in charge, of course.
RB-Chicago,
I forgot about Dobson being based in Colorado. You are right that Dobson and many others in the Religious Right do not live in the real world. Facts are evil things that have a habit of getting in their way.
With Dobson and his crew of lunatics in Co. Springs, one of these idiotic pieces of legislation comes up every six months or so..
During this year of over-the-top NeoCon stunts that have NOTHING to do with ANYTHING except perhaps magic underwear, it may actually gain some momentum –
Let’s hope some form of sanity comes back to the human race, but in Dobson’s world anything but reality seems to be reality.
Once again the Republicans are trying to use abortion and contraception as a wedge issue for the upcoming election. I don’t know why any of us should be surprised at this approach. Karl Rove is alive and well and still calling the shots for the Republican party in their reelection results. As Michel Spindell stated, women should be very, very afraid of this Colorado sham issue and of the McCain candidacy in general. These pseudo Christian people want to control your sex life, but not their own. They clamor about “right to life” but they are responsible for the deaths of hundred of thousands in Iraq. That is not even counting over 4,400 of America’s best who have been killed in Iraq alone. They are hypocritical, white men(mostly) who want to keep control of the aparatus of the government, and they use religion and fear to scare or motivate voters into voting for the “safe” and “Christian” way of life. The voters in Colorado should see through this charade, but it has worked before. Just one more reason to remind everyone you know to vote against the Republicans and McCain. And don’t forget any Democrats who enabled the Republicans to tear this country apart and to dissolve the line separating Church and State.
This is yet another attack on the independence and bodies of women. It is of course absurd, as others here state. The fear of women (sexuality) is abroad in our land led by male, fundamentalist wackos and inflamed by corrupt politicians advancing their careers through demagoguery. The legislator(s) behind this have either drunk the Kool-Aid, or have seized the ridiculous initiative. Either way they deserve a quick shattering of their public careers.
Mespo,
The trimester viability approach is essentially a sliding scale approach, it just uses very broad divisions. I think it generally works well, but trimesters are a bit artificial and not every zygote\embryo\fetus develops at the same rate. I will also point out that there is a problem with viability as a standard. If the definition of viable includes the use of medical equipment then viability is determined not only by the development of the fetus, but also the level of care available at the nearest hospital as well as the insurance and income level of the mother. If it doesn’t include medical equipment then there are a large number of people walking around that were born before they were “viable.”
Dam’it Gyges,
I thought God was dead, this time for sure. I will get that book, it sounds interesting.
Jill
Gyges:
How about the trimester viability approach of the Supreme Court which harkens back to the “quickening” rationale adopted by Aristotle and many early Christians. It makes some logical sense,and it avoids your sliding scale approach to the topic which may have some validity but which is impossible to accomplish practically.
Jill,
That’s just God’s way of testing (or punishing) the mothers. If some deists believe in a “Watchmaker” God, then some Christians believe in a “Crash Test Engineer” God.
The problem with this situation is defining when the unborn is considered a person. The “moment of conception” view is ridiculous, and the “not until it’s out of the womb” view would be just as bad. So do we go by a specific developmental indicator?
I like the view put forth in “The Science of Good and Evil.” Micheal Shermer says that the best approach to this kind of ethical problem is to use a fuzzy logic approach verses the common either\or approach. To give an example: instead of lying is wrong, it’d you’d approach it as, lying is 0% wrong when done to save an innocent life, 20% when it’s to get someone to feel better about themselves, 70% when it’s to get someone to like you, 100% when it’s to cover up murder.
God and Jesus are Republicans, just ask Bush Jr.
Bush has a draft proposal by the {ironically named} Dept. of Health and Human Services with new rules to define abortion as: “any of the various procedures-including the prescription, dispensing, and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other actions-that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation”. (Information from Toledo Blade 8/3/08.) As they and others point out, this includes birth control.
So what is going on here? Certainly it is an attempt to inflame christian conservatives who have seemed disinclined to vote in the upcoming election. While they’re out and about stomping on the rights of women and lesbian and gay people they’ll pull the lever for McCain.
Again though, I do notice the connection between clamping down on the rights of women during difficult economic/social times. I see this in pop culture as well. There are a number of movies/books extolling the viture of subservient women. These secular pieces dovetail quite nicely with the christian right’s vision of women being obediant to men. It is quite creepy.
As to Colorado, do they have a provision for the death penalty aimed at god? God preforms more deaths of fertilized embryos than anyone else. I certainly hope they mean to punish him for these actions.
To Republicans, a “person’s” life only needs protection before they are born and when they’re about to die (vegetative state, assisted suicide…), but if they are hungry or homeless or illiterate – let the private sector deal with it. And of course death row inmates and POW aren’t important either.
Blastocyst Rights! 70-100 cells are people too!
Quirky Indian wrote:
That has to be one of the more ridiculous things I have ever heard. And it’s scary that so many people are apparently in support of something like this. As the article you linked to mentions, does this mean that using a particular form of contraception in Colorado might leave you open to a murder charge?
*******************
Q.I., I think it would. There are many in the religious fundamentalist camp who seriously believe that any form of contraception that prevents implantation of a fertilized egg causes an abortion. And since they also feel that “abortion is murder,” a murder charge is a frightening possibility.
That has to be one of the more ridiculous things I have ever heard. And it’s scary that so many people are apparently in support of something like this. As the article you linked to mentions, does this mean that using a particular form of contraception in Colorado might leave you open to a murder charge?
Cheers,
Quirky Indian
http://quirkyindian.wordpress.com