An Amendment Sarah Palin Must Love

An Amendment Sarah Palin Must Love

Thanks to Ann Friedman at Feministing.com for highlighting a ghastly, almost South Dakota-like antichoice ballot measure in Colorado, known as Amendment 48.

It’s offenses are manifold. As Friedman grimly chronicles, this bill is not just anti-abortion, but anti-contraception; it will disproportionately affect young women, women of color, incarcerated women, and low-income women; it advances fetal rights over women’s rights and it misleadingly co-opts feminist language. (The group backing the amendment is called Colorado for Equal Rights.)

Amendment 48 not only bans all abortions in every instance–even in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman is at risk–it also threatens stem cell research and in vitro fertilization, compromises the doctor-patient relationship, and deprives access to common hormonal birth control methods (i.e. the pill and IUD), and to emergency contraception for rape and incest victims.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Thanks to Ann Friedman at Feministing.com for highlighting a ghastly, almost South Dakota-like antichoice ballot measure in Colorado, known as Amendment 48.

It’s offenses are manifold. As Friedman grimly chronicles, this bill is not just anti-abortion, but anti-contraception; it will disproportionately affect young women, women of color, incarcerated women, and low-income women; it advances fetal rights over women’s rights and it misleadingly co-opts feminist language. (The group backing the amendment is called Colorado for Equal Rights.)

Amendment 48 not only bans all abortions in every instance–even in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman is at risk–it also threatens stem cell research and in vitro fertilization, compromises the doctor-patient relationship, and deprives access to common hormonal birth control methods (i.e. the pill and IUD), and to emergency contraception for rape and incest victims.

In this video Dr. Eliza Buyers, a Denver-based OB/GYN, explains why it’s so important to defeat Amendment 48.

Moreover, the measure, according to the Washington Post, could also expand the reach of the law into other arenas in alarming ways. “For instance, if a woman miscarries, she could be held responsible if it were found she caused it, even unintentionally. If she smoked or drank while pregnant, her behavior might be considered negligence. Damaged eggs might be eligible for monetary damages. The use of fertilized eggs at fertility clinics or in medical research labs would come into question because the disposal of unused eggs could be considered homicide.”

For more on how you can help defeat Amendment 48 go to the Protect Families, Protect Choices website. And for those of you who in Colorado, be sure to vote no on Amendment 48 on November 4!

Become a Sustaining Donor This September

Between the reemergence of right-wing red-baiting and Donald Trump’s use of the chilling National Security Presidential Memorandum–7 to criminalize left political organizing, we’re seeing McCarthyism reborn before our eyes.

This assault on democracy cannot be ignored or wished away. Resisting it requires bravery in the face of threats and repression, a steadfast commitment to the truth, and the unwavering belief that we can—and will—overcome this darkness.

We must have an independent media that sets the record straight, unearths corruption and abuses of power, and advances a politics of justice and dignity for all if we’re to win this fight.

That’s why I’m writing to you today. This September, The Nation needs to add 100 monthly donors to sustain our progressive journalism. Your contribution makes the next investigative report, the next truth-speaking column, and the next pathbreaking essay all possible. 

I hope you’ll support our work with a recurring donation today. If you donate $10 or more a month, we’ll send you a brand new “Hands Off the Free Press!” sticker to recognise your commitment to our cause. Please, donate today. 

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x