FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- October 30, 2008
 
Contact:   Jeremy Shaver, The Interfaith Alliance of Colorado
303-733-4089 (work) or 303-324-7923 (cell)

DENVER – The Interfaith Alliance of Colorado (TIA-CO) is outraged by the frivolous lawsuit filed yesterday by religious political extremists asking a Colorado court to cancel the state’s contracts with two providers of women’s health care services.

“The supporters of this lawsuit are endangering women’s lives to further their extreme political agenda,” said Jeremy Shaver, Director of Outreach for TIA-CO. “The lawsuit is a sour grapes attempt by the usual anti-abortion suspects to manipulate Colorado voters.”

The lawsuit was filed in District Court Wednesday by the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of Mark Hotaling, who described himself as a private citizen. The fact, however, is that Hotaling has served as the executive director of the Christian Family Alliance of Colorado, a key supporter of Amendment 48 - a proposed constitutional amendment to define a fertilized egg as a person in Colorado’s constitution. Kristi Burton, sponsor of Amendment 48, also spoke at the press conference on Wednesday announcing the lawsuit. Furthermore, Tom Minnery, vice president of Public Policy for Focus on the Family, is a member of the ADF’s Board of Directors and Dr. James Dobson is also recognized by the ADF as one of the ADF’s co-founders. Focus on the Family is also a strong supporter of Amendment 48.

“This lawsuit is a desperate attempt by supporters of Amendment 48 to energize their base and draw attention to their mission of banning abortions in Colorado and the United States,” Shaver said. “It is disturbing that the Christian Family Alliance of Colorado and the Alliance Defense Fund would seek to deny low-income women access to potentially life-saving cancer screenings.”

The lawsuit comes on the heels of the release of recent polls demonstrating a growing number of Colorado voters oppose this misguided constitutional amendment.

The lawsuit seeks an end to the Colorado Department of Health’s contracts with Planned Parenthood and the Boulder Valley Women's Health Center to provide cervical and breast cancer screenings for women. The lawsuit alleges the contracts violate laws prohibiting the public subsidization of abortions in Colorado. This allegation, however, is false and overlooks the fact that the cancer screenings are provided to low-income women as part of a federally funded health care program.

In September, the Alliance Defense Fund asked clergy to endorse candidates from the pulpit and purposefully violate their tax-exempt status in order to force a court case on the role of religious leaders and houses of worship in elections.

“This lawsuit is one more attempt by the Alliance Defense Fund to endanger the religious freedoms and civil liberties Americans enjoy thanks to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,” Shaver said. “We cannot sit idly by and let this lawsuit go unchallenged.”

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The Interfaith Alliance of Colorado is a statewide interfaith, member-driven, grassroots organization that strengthens democracy in our culture; serves as a progressive voice of reason, moderation and mutual respect for communities of faith; and promotes religious freedom, understanding and diversity. TIA-CO has more than 800 members and 13 congregational partners across Colorado, who come from more than 12 faith traditions.

October 28, 2008

Press Contact:

Laura K Chapin, (202) 236 – 6161

No on 48 Hosts Statewide Rallies and Early Voting Push in Denver, Boulder, & Fort Collins, Tuesday, October 28th from 12:30 to 1:30pm

On Tuesday, October 28, at 12:30 p.m., the NO on 48 Campaign is hosting rallies and early voting drives in Boulder, Denver, and Fort Collins. We'll have great speakers, great stories about why Amendment 48 goes too far, and then we'll head on over to cast our ballots in this critical election.

LOCATIONS – ALL EVENTS START AT 12:30:

Denver:

Civic Center Park; followed by voting at the Wellington Webb  Building
Speakers include Rep. Anne McGihon and Education Activist  Shelby Knox


Boulder: 

Pearl Street Mall, in front of the Courthouse, followed by voting at the Boulder County Courthouse
Speakers include Nurse Lynda Monsey and student Carrie Jackson from New Era Colorado


Fort Collins:

Behind the Lory Student Center on the corner of Meridian and Plum, followed by voting at the Lory Student Center
Speakers will include Rep. John Kefalas Ali Rodway from the National Organization of Women and CSU Students
    

Visual: 

Activists will unroll approximately 30 feet of NO 48 personal stories which are printed bright green paper.  People waving signs.
NO 48 activists will walk in a group to early vote locations.

PRESS CONTACT: Laura K Chapin, (202) 236 – 6161

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- October 24, 2008
 
Contact:   Crystal Clinkenbeard, NO on 48, Communications Director
720-989-7693 (cell)
 
Denver, CO (October 24, 2008)—The proponents of Amendment 48, the “Definition of Person” amendment, launched cable television and talk radio ads the week of October 16-27.  The ads can be seen here: http://www.coloradoforequalrights.com/node/29.
 
The NO on 48 Campaign charges that these ads are as misleading as the amendment. “Amendment 48 is a deceptive attempt to ban abortion, even for victims of rape or when the woman’s health is at risk.  The NO on 48 Campaign is not surprised that the proponents ads continue the pattern of deception,” said Crystal Clinkenbeard, Communications Director, NO on 48 Campaign.
 
“The NO on 48 Campaign opposes this dangerous amendment because it is bad policy, bad medicine, and bad law.  Educating voters is expensive, and we’re spending more than a 1.5 million dollars to tell the truth about Amendment 48,” said Clinkenbeard.  “That’s not greed.  It is exposing the extremism of granting fertilized eggs the same constitutional rights that you and I enjoy.”
 
The NO on 48 Campaign uses the following examples to support the claim that the ads are misleading:

The ad implies that tax dollars are going to fund abortion services through Planned Parenthood.  That claim is false and manipulative.  Nationally, the Hyde Amendment first passed in the late 1970s, prohibits federal funds from going to abortion except in very limited circumstances.

Colorado, like many states, also bans public funds from being used for abortion services.

All (100%) of the public funds that Planned Parenthood receives are used to provide cancer screenings, sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment, education and reproductive health services to low-income women. Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains receives less that 8% of its annual operating funds from public sources and uses donated charitable funds to subsidize the remainder of the services provided to women and men with financial need.

Planned Parenthood is the largest single provider of services and education to prevent unintended pregnancy in the Rocky Mountain West.

Amendment 48 does not define when life begins. Instead, it grants constitutional rights to fertilized eggs in Colorado. Contrary to the claims of the proponents of Amendment 48, and their ads, there is no medical or scientific consensus about when life begins.  Major medical organizations oppose Amendment 48 because it is bad medicine and bad science.
 
“Colorado voters have opposed these deceptive, intrusive attempts to interfere in medical practice before. Amendment 48 hides its true intent from voters, and the proponents’ ads are misleading.  The NO on 48 Campaign is proud of our efforts to educate voters,” said Clinkenbeard.
 
CONTACT: Crystal Clinkenbeard, 720-989-7693

Colorado Gynecological-Obstetrical Society Refutes Claims Made By Amendment 48 Supporters 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ---October 22, 2008

Contact:         Dr. Eliza Buyers
Legislative Chair of the Colorado Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Colorado Gynecological-Obstetrical Society

720-272-2886 (cell)

Denver, CO (October 22, 2008)—The proponents of Amendment 48, the “Definition of Person” amendment, released a statement from three doctors this week questioning the mainstream medical organizations that oppose Amendment 48. In response, Dr. Eliza Buyers, Legislative Chair, Colorado Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Colorado Gynecological-Obstetrical Society issued the following statement:

“The Colorado Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Colorado Gynecological-Obstetrical Society are opposed to Amendment 48 because it inserts a non-medical, non-scientific definition into the state constitution, interferes in medical practice, and could criminalize doctors for providing routine medical care.  

The American College of Obstetrician and Gynecologists knows that our members disagree about social issues, including elective abortion, and deeply respects these differences.  The decision to oppose Amendment 48 is based on its broad consequences for routine medical practice, and not on the single issues of abortion or embryonic stem cell research.  Amendment 48 would make the life-saving treatment of ectopic pregnancies a crime.  It could subject women who suffer from a spontaneous miscarriage to unnecessary scrutiny.  And, it would make the most common treatments for infertility (in vitro fertilization) more expensive and less effective.”

According to Dr. Eric Surrey, past President of the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technology and a physician who specializes in Reproductive-Endocrinology and Infertility:

“The latest medical and scientific research done in this field does not direct physicians and scientists to the conclusion that every fertilized egg will become a person. When normal couples are studied, as many as 30-70% of fertilized eggs fail to implant spontaneously in a women’s uterus; this is why it can often take several months to conceive even if everything is timed correctly. When scientists and researchers test fertilized eggs that have been created through in vitro fertilization, at least half of them are not genetically normal and have no potential to become a pregnancy at all, let alone result in a live birth.  It is widely accepted that approximately 20% of all pregnancies in younger women and up to 45% of pregnancies in women over 40 result in a spontaneous miscarriage, which most often occurs because of the abnormal genetic make-up of the implanted fertilized egg.  These statements are not based on personal belief or religious conviction, but on biological facts which have been published in peer-reviewed journals. The supporters of this Amendment have suggested that these statements represent “scare tactics”. The fact of the matter is that the Amendment in no way excludes these issues and, in fact, would leave clarification to the court system. “

Dr. Andrew Ross, an Obstetrician-Gynecologist who practices in Denver, a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and a member of the Colorado Gynecological-Obstetrical Society, states:

“We deeply respect and honor the moral and religious view that personhood and/or human life begins at conception.  However, it is not one that is based on the current medical and scientific evidence.  We also feel that it is disingenuous of the proponents of this Amendment to fail to consider the unintended and detrimental consequences to the health of women in Colorado.

We are joined in our opposition to Amendment 48 by the other major medical societies in the state; these include the Colorado Medical Society, the Colorado Association of Family Physicians, the Colorado Society of Osteopathic Medicine, and the Denver Chapter of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.  The Amendment is also opposed by the major organizations whose goals are the buildings of families- this includes the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, as well as RESOLVE  and the American Fertility Association which are both national infertility patient support groups.”

For a more detailed description of the Colorado Section of ACOG position, we ask that you review our full position statement which is available here: http://www.protectfamiliesprotectchoices.org/getthefacts/doctors-against-48.html or http://www.acog.org/acog_sections/dist_notice.cfm?recno=35&bulletin=2177

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The Colorado Gynecological- Obstetrical Society is dedicated to improving health care for women and children in Colorado, providing continuing education for health care professionals, and being a resource for patients, legislators, and journalists seeking health care information.

For more information, contact Dr. Eliza Buyers, Legislative Chair of the Colorado Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Colorado Gynecological-Obstetrical Society 720-272-2886 (cell).