Colorado voters went to the polls yesterday and resoundingly rejected Amendment 62, the so called “personhood” amendment which would have given legal rights to fertilized eggs under the Colorado Constitution. Expressly, Amendment 62 would have applied 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 “any human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being.” The ballot measure was rejected by a three to one margin with 97% of the precincts reporting. This is the second time in two years that Colorado residents have voted to rebuff the agenda of the state’s “pro-life” movement. Amendment 62 was the only “pro-life” initiative on a ballot anywhere in the U.S. this election cycle.
Both ASRM and SART were early supporters of the “No on 62 Campaign” urging Coloradoans to reject the ballot measure. ASRM leaders convened a press conference last week during its 66th Annual Meeting held in Denver, to state fervent opposition to Amendment 62. Calling it a deceptive and dangerous measure, ASRM President Dr. William Gibbons and ASRM members and Colorado residents Dr. William Schlaff and Dr. Nanette Santoro described how Amendment 62 would imperil vital medical care and eliminate important family building options for Coloradoans suffering from the devastating disease of infertility. Dr. Schlaff explained, “In vitro fertilization procedures will be made less safe as patients would be forced to transfer all fertilized eggs without regard to their viability, chromosomal abnormalities or carrier status for dreadful genetic disorders.” Schlaff also cited a study by one of the largest clinics in the U.S. which found that in its practice only 7.5 % of all fertilized eggs went on to become live born children due to the fact that human reproduction is an intricate and inefficient process. Added Schlaff, “Proponents of Amendment 62 ignore the well-established biologic truths of embryo development.”
