Lawmakers lock horns over ‘personhood’ ballot initiative wording

Members of a legislative panel briefly locked horns this week over proposed language in a ballot initiative defining the word “person”– constitutionally speaking–as it applies to the unborn. In dispute was wording prepared by legislative staff in drafting the proposal’s pros and cons as they will appear in this year’s “Blue Book,” to be mailed to voters in advance of the November election.

The arguments for and against Amendment 62, dubbed the “personhood amendment,” were reviewed by the 18-member Legislative Council Committee, chaired by Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, and vice-chaired by Speaker of the House Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, after public testimony and input from staffers. The proposal, placed on the ballot by a citizens group after it gathered sufficient signatures, seeks to expand the constitutional definition of “person” as a human being to include “from the beginning of biological development.” The draft may be amended by the legislative committee if a two-thirds majority agrees.   - More -