Tag: Personhood
Colorado GOP swing-district candidates already dodgy on ‘personhood’
Federal presidential-election-year campaigns are heating up in Colorado now that the boundaries of the state's congressional districts have been updated. Yet, so far, Mike Coffman and Scott Tipton, the Republican representatives of new more-competitive districts Six and Three, have yet to articulate for the record their stands on "personhood," the hard-line anti-abortion proposition that has become a litmus-test issue in Colorado after having landed on the ballot as an initiative in the last two general elections and after clearing hurdles to speed toward the ballot again this year.
Citing embrace of personhood, Dems say Romney candidacy doomed in Colorado
Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has struggled to win over social-conservative primary campaign voters, but he recently took up the hard-core anti-abortion, anti-birth control, anti-stem cell personhood movement, which would grant full citizen rights to fertilized human eggs. It's a move that will surely doom his chances to win a general election in Colorado, according to First District Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette, head of the congressional pro-choice caucus, and state Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio.
Failed in Colorado, anti-abortion personhood movement winning in Mississippi
Colorado voters in 2008 and 2010 roundly rejected "personhood" initiatives that aimed to grant full legal rights to human eggs from the moment of fertilization. The national organization behind the idea, Personhood USA, then took its campaign to Mississippi, betting the state's large bloc of religious voters might put it over the top and set the stage to challenge Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in 1973.
Montana Personhood amendment approved for petition drive
The Montana secretary of state has approved a “Personhood” initiative for signature gathering. Personhood measures have cropped up across the country — including in Florida — in an attempt to ban abortion and some forms of birth control.
Citizen initiative could force gay marriage showdown in Colorado
State establishment political progressives, including the staff at gay rights group OneColorado, seem cool on Aurora college student Mark Olmstead's plan to introduce a 2012 ballot initiative that would overturn the state's gay marriage ban. There's a sense that financial and human resources would be better spent pressing lawmakers to pass legislation securing equal rights for LGBT citizens here. Lone actor Olmstead's initiative, however, might force the issue, drawing on the energy of New York's big gay-marriage win this month and on the sea change shift among the U.S. population generally on the matter of gay equality.
Power to the people, say the people
Despite the demise of a bill to increase the percentage of votes needed to pass a voter initiated constitutional amendment in the Legislature this year, grassroots advocates recently voiced their opposition to the move they see as part of a trend by legislators to limit the power of the people.
VIDEO: Anti-abortion rights activist says heartbeat bill is ticket through Roe...
A major theme at this past weekend’s faith-based conference The Awakening at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., was winning over young voters. During the two-day-long stream of panel discussions, workshops, movie screenings and Christian rock concerts, speakers discussed strategy on how to engage the young in politics (social media!) and social issues like abortion (capitalizing on the teen urge to revolt and fight for a cause).
Tangled in abortion politics, Waller derails his fetal-homicide bill
Misinformation ended the life of House Bill 1256 that would have made the willful killing of a fetus up to a 2nd degree felony in Colorado statutes, according to Republican prime sponsor Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs. Waller said emails he received made it clear the bill would become the focal point for a fight over abortion, a fight neither he nor others wanted this year.
Women’s rights supporters use satire to battle latest ‘personhood’ measure
Colorado soundly defeated anti-abortion "personhood" ballot initiatives in the last two election cycles. Voters found the move to grant fertilized human eggs all of the rights of adult citizens of the state absurd and untenable. Personhood supporters have vowed to try again next cycle, saying they're fighting an educational and moral battle and that winning will take time. The same battle is now waging in Georgia, where hard-core Republican Christian Rep. Bobby Franklin's personhood legislation is drawing an outraged response from women's rights supporters around the nation.
DeGette sounds alarm against attempt to strengthen anti-abortion conscience clauses
MSNBC host Chris Matthews this week asked Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette, head of the congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, about how the anti-abortion bills introduced as a top priority in the Republican-controlled House might affect Americans should they become law. DeGette said that, from the perspective of women's health care, the bills are "riddled with little land mines."