A personhood amendment by any other name....

Remember the Personhood Amendment? Promoted as the brainchild of then-21-year-old Kristi Burton, the subject of a Westword profile, the measure would have established that a human's life begins at the moment of fertilization -- and despite a big effort on its behalf by abortion foes, it was easily defeated in...

By Michael Roberts

August 6, 2009

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Remember the Personhood Amendment? Promoted as the brainchild of then-21-year-old Kristi Burton, the subject of a Westword profile, the measure would have established that a human's life begins at the moment of fertilization -- and despite a big effort on its behalf by abortion foes, it was easily defeated in last year's election. That doesn't suggest a groundswell for its reintroduction -- but it's coming back anyhow. The Denver Post's Lynn Bartels reports that the title of the proposal has now been approved by state officials: It reads, "An amendment to the Colorado Constitution applying the term 'person' as used in those provisions of the Colorado Constitution relating to inalienable rights, equality of justice and due process of law, to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being."

Catchy.

How is Personhood Amendment 2.0 different from the original recipe? Instead of conferring person status to a fertilized egg, as did Burton's baby, the new version substitutes the "beginning of biological development" language -- which pretty much equates to a fertilized egg if my memory of high-school science class serves. Here comes the new amendment, just like the old amendment.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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