Next year, the Colorado general election ballot will include an amendment that seeks to redefine the state constitution’s definition of a child to include unborn fetuses.
Amendment 67 was included on the ballot after a petition led by pro-life groups garnered more than 140,000 signatures, The Washington Post reports.
The amendment was inspired by Heather Surovik, who was eight months pregnant when a July 2012 car crash with a drunk driver killed her unborn child. The drunk driver was not charged in the death of Surovik’s child, who was named Brady.
Surovik then teamed up with Personhood Colorado to collect signatures for a petition to get “Brady’s Amendment” on the ballot in 2014. Personhood Colorado is a pro-life group that has tried and failed three times to get the Colorado government to recognize fetuses as people.
Their petition on behalf of Surovik garnered more than 140,000 signatures, exceeding the 86,105 signature minimum for an amendment to be included on the ballot.
“The Brady Amendment requires Colorado to recognize that there are two victims in cases like mine,” Surovik said in a statement.
While the amendment has its supporters, other groups say that Amendment 67 is nothing more than another attempt to get the Colorado government to ban abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. The amendment’s supporters say that is not true.
The amendment would change the language of the Colorado Criminal Code and the Colorado Wrongful Death Act to allow the prosecution of anyone who harms a fetus, thereby recognizing a fetus as a legitimate child, Personhood Colorado spokeswoman Jennifer Mason told the Post.
The amendment will appear on the Nov. 4, 2014 Colorado general election ballot.