Some of you may know that I've been spending early Saturday mornings outside the Planned Parenthood near Denver City Park, praying for everyone around, meeting people, and trying to intercede for the lives of the babies about to be killed along with the souls of the mothers, fathers, workers, volunteers, and protesters. In this way I've been made aware of some Colorado developments in the fight against abortion.
Hope: Baby Hands and Feet
One was covered this week by local TV stations, and the Rocky Mountain News. A group called Colorado for Equal Rights is trying to put an amendment to the Colorado Constitution on the ballot for November 2008 that would define person as beginning at fertilization. This would be a huge step for protecting unborn babies, and is a "loophole" specifically acknowledged in the Roe v. Wade case. The logic in the 70's for the case was flawed. Science is even more compelling now to define life at the earliest possible moment.
The first thing to be done is to acquire 76,000 petition signatures (in 6 months) from Colorado residents registered to vote, in order to put the issue on the ballot. Then campaigning must be done to encourage people to vote for the amendment, and to vote in the first place. Fortunately '08 is a presidential election year, which usually means big turnout and attention to political issues.
Opponents' strongest argument is that we are clearly trying to overturn the "right" to abortion, but did not mention abortion anywhere in the amendment. They believe that as soon as voters know the connotations of the amendment, they would choose not to support the change to the constitution. However, there is nothing wrong with the amendment, as upheld by the Colorado courts. The laws talk about personhood. We're trying to legally define what a person is. Seems like a relevant question to me. This political step is already raising awareness. Hopefully it will challenge a lot of voters, and especially Christians, to consider their definition of life and position on abortion or even contraception.
The other news item I've encountered is regarding a new Planned Parenthood facility. If you have been following US news from the conservative side, you may have heard about Aurora, Illinois, which recently suffered the illegal construction of the largest abortion facility in the country. I say illegal because to build the office, Planned Parenthood did their best to keep the use of the building a secret, lying on construction permit papers and to contractors. Despite pro-life opposition pointing these things out, the building is open for business. A similar plot is underway in Colorado, but the pro-life groups have earlier notice, and are jumping in with both feet in order to stop construction of what may well replace Illinois' Planned Parenthood as the largest abortion provider in the country.
So they're having a rally, to get information out and to use public opinion to pressure neighbors of the facility, contractors, sub-contractors, and anyone involved to stop construction. So far it seems they have focused their protest on the leadership of Weitz company, the contractor in charge of the project. The December 1 rally will begin outside the property (in the area formerly associated with Stapleton Airport) slated to become an abortion mega-clinic.
That's what I know. I wish that people would tell me these things when I don't know, so I'm sharing them with you. And yes, I guess I'm that young, starry-eyed enthusiast who despite avoiding the college scene wants her share of activism. Join me?
To God be all glory.
PS: I didn't duplicate any links in the above; they're all separate. You can click on any one of them for more specific information.
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