FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 21, 2010

For More Information:
Cara DeGette, 720-979-4385
Laura Chapin, 202-236-6161

COLORADO BAR ASSOCIATION AND COLORADO WOMEN'S BAR ASSOCIATION
DENOUNCE AMENDMENT 62 AS 'BAD LAW', BAD POLICY', 'A LEGAL NIGHTMARE'

The state's largest legal associations today announced their opposition to Colorado's Amendment 62, underscoring its dangerous and far-reaching implications on tens of thousands of state laws.

In a joint media event, the Colorado Bar Association and the Colorado Women's Bar Association joined the broad-based, bipartisan NO on 62 Coalition opposing Amendment 62, the so-called "personhood" amendment that seeks to extend legal and constitutional rights to fertilized eggs. Amendment 62, on the Nov. 2 Colorado ballot, could affect everything from property rights to inheritance laws. At a noontime gathering at the Chancery Building Law Library in downtown Denver, attorneys highlighted the far-reaching legal ramifications of the proposed amendment.

"Almost every area of law would be impacted, including criminal law, family law, trusts and estates, real estate, elder law, tort law, juvenile law, health law and business law," said Andrew Toft, representing the 17,000-member Colorado Bar Association, which includes three-fourths of the state's licensed attorneys.

"The word 'person' appears more than 20,000 times in the Colorado Revised Statutes and in Colorado regulations and municipal ordinances," Toft continued. "To redefine the term 'person', as Amendment 62 proposes, would effectively amend all of the statutes in Colorado that contain that term. Furthermore, the jurisprudence which has developed in defining the term would have to be revisited as a result of the proposed amendment."

Said Denver attorney Kevin Paul: "Federal law has already settled the issue – the word “person” for purposes of the protections afforded by the U.S. Constitution does not include fertilized eggs. Amendment 62 would thus put Colorado on a costly collision course with decades of federal precedent."

Lucy Hojo Denson, president of the Colorado Women’s Bar Association, called Amendment 62 "bad law and bad policy."

"Our organization works to promote the interests of women in the legal profession and the interests of women and children in general," Denson said. "We are proud to join the diverse, broad-based coalition urging Coloradans to Vote NO on 62."

Alaine Ginocchio, of the Colorado Women's Bar Association Public Policy Committee, called Amendment 62 "a legal nightmare."

"It would impact literally thousands of laws, clogging our courts over such issues as property rights and inheritance issues," Ginocchio said.

In addition to the Colorado Bar Association and the Colorado Women's Bar Association, more than 56 organizations have so far joined the coalition to defeat Amendment 62, including the Colorado Medical Society, the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains and the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

A complete list of additional groups who oppose Amendment 62 is at the NO on 62 Campaign website, 62VoteNo.org