The North Dakota House of Representatives has passed the first personhood amendment in the United States, 57-35. Read more
Colorado
New evidence suggests Catholic Health Initiatives hospital chain may be participating in abortions
Denver, CO – 2/4/13 – While researching the scandal of the Catholic Health Initiatives legal briefs which denied the personhood of unborn children, Personhood USA has learned that the same Colorado hospital chain may be allowing or participating in abortions on the Catholic hospital grounds.
In November of 2010, a woman suffering a miscarriage sought treatment at Four Corners OB/GYN, which is located at Mercy Regional (listed as a CHI hospital) in Durango, Colorado. While recovering, and still grieving after losing her baby, the woman was billed for an elective abortion by Mercy Regional Lab. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous at this time, sent documentation verifying her claims to Personhood USA.
After receiving the bill, the woman’s health insurance provider declined to pay, as elective abortions are not covered by their insurance policy.
The evidence indicates that CHI may be selling or allowing abortion services, and may have been doing so for years. This new information comes just weeks after a CHI legal brief made headlines. The brief denied culpability in a medical malpractice suit, claiming that unborn twins who died while in CHI’s care were not people.
“On top of the devastation of losing my baby, I am being sued by an aggressive collection agency for not paying for an abortion that never happened,” explained the woman. “It is horrible to have to deal with their attorney, and fight a battle against a big hospital for erroneous charges, when I’m still dealing with the pain of the death of my child. It’s just wrong.”
Catholic Health Initiatives had already been immersed in abortion scandal since allowing privileges to Durango abortionist Richard Grossman, who serves on the ethics board there and is the longest serving physician at Mercy Hospital with full admitting privileges. There is also an established link between CHI and abortion profiteer Stericycle.
“There is no question that Catholic Health Initiatives’ actions are contrary to the beliefs of the Catholic Church,” confirmed Gualberto GarciaJones, J.D., legal analyst for Personhood USA. “There must be an immediate investigation into the possibility that CHI is killing children in their hospitals. Among many other steps that must be taken, these businesses should at the very least cease their ruthless pursuit of payment from this woman and her family. This is an outrageous breach of the trust. It is unacceptable for any health care facility to put dollars before human lives.”
Hearing on Unborn Victims of Crime
Here’s a video of the hearing onColorado HB 1032*. It’s edited for length.
Kevin Paul, the Planned Parenthood lawyer, agrees that there is a gap in Colorado law for the reckless criminal killing of unborn babies but he doesn’t explain why this particular law is a bad way to fill that gap. It’s difficult to tell from the video if this point was glaringly obvious to the people in the room. I’m disappointed that Personhood folks didn’t provide counter testimony, if just to emphasize this fact.
Ellen Belef doesn’t provide any rational testimony. She just accuses the bill of being a “back door for Personhood” without providing any evidence to support her accusation. It is nice how she accidentally falls into telling the truth that unborn babies are actually babies. Oh, she didn't mean "baby", she meant "pregnancy". This clip shows that for pro-aborts, language (unless it's the language of the bill) means everything. As long as you can label the baby in such a way to hide her humanity, she is nothing.
This exposes the lie that pro-aborts care about “wanted” children.
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*The language of the bill made it clear that it wasn’t about abortion, but about the victims of "crime". Here’s the language:
If the commission of any crime codified in this title or title 42,C.R.S., is the proximate cause of death or injury to an unborn member of the species homo sapiens, the respective homicide and assault charges for that death or injury may be brought simultaneously with the underlying charges.
Since abortion is not considered a crime, it would not be banned by this bill.
Rep for Pro-choice Group tells grieving mother 8 pound 2 ounce baby was not a person; mother files ballot initiative in response
Watch footage of the hearing by clicking here.
Denver, CO – 01/29/13 – Democrats and Planned Parenthood representatives defeated HB 1032 yesterday, an abortion-neutral bill that would have made fetal homicide punishable by law. Heather Surovik shared her story with the House, showing pictures of her unborn son who was killed when she was hit by a drunk driver. In response, abortion advocates testified that Heather had merely ‘lost a pregnancy’ and accused her and Republican House Representative Janak Joshi of trying to protect human eggs.
“Their comments were hurtful. I couldn’t keep myself from crying,” Surovik commented. “I testified about my son’s life, and the car accident and repeat DUI offender who took him from me, and in response, I was told that Brady’s life didn’t matter. While the Fraternal Order of Police and the Colorado District Attorney’s Council endorsed this bill, Planned Parenthood and House Democrats seemed pleased to defeat the bill that would have meant justice for victims of violent crimes.”
Heather Surovik was leaving her final prenatal appointment when she was struck by a drunk driver, who was on his fifth DUI. When she awoke in the ICU, she learned that her 8 pound 2 ounce unborn son, Brady, had not survived the accident. Later, she learned that because Brady was not yet born at the time of the accident, the driver could be charged with destroying her vehicle, but not with killing her son.
Immediately following the hearing of the defeated HB 1032, Heather filed an amendment to the Colorado Constitution calling for fetal homicide laws to at last be applied to unborn victims of violence in Colorado. Once the amendment is approved, volunteers will begin collecting signatures to put The Brady Project on the 2014 ballot.
Personhood Colorado announced their support of the amendment at a press conference yesterday. “The House members who voted against HB 1032 must have been extremely cold-hearted,” added Jennifer Mason, spokesperson for Personhood Colorado. “Under current Colorado law, drunk drivers who kill unborn babies can get away with murder. This is absolutely wrong, and it is shocking that House Democrats and abortion lobbyists would be so extreme that they will not allow the legal recognition of any unborn child under any circumstances.”
The Denver Post quoted a Planned Parenthood representative who claimed that they were grateful to the lawmakers who had voted against the fetal homicide bill.
Personhood Colorado files new amendment for unborn victims of violence
Personhood Colorado files new amendment for unborn victims of violence
Denver, Co. – 01/28/13 – Immediately following the legislative defeat of H.B. 1032, Heather Surovik and Personhood Colorado filed an amendment to ensure that all victims of homicide are considered persons.
The Brady Project was created after Heather’s son was killed by a drunk driver, who was already a four-time offender. Surovik and her family were told that although Brady was near delivery, the driver could not be charged with vehicular homicide because under Colorado law her baby was not considered a ‘person’. Heather and Brady’s case is just one of many in recent years that disallowed prosecution for the baby’s death, including car accidents and shootings.
HB 1032, which was endorsed by The Fraternal Order of Police as well as the Colorado District Attorney’s Council, would have enabled prosecution for homicide in the cases of violent crimes against unborn babies.
Heather Surovik explained, “Since the legislature has failed to protect victims of violence in Colorado, we the people need to act immediately. In Colorado, there is a case of unsolicited fetal homicide nearly every year. In most other states, there would be justice for those victims, and it is time for Colorado citizens to demand justice as well.”
A new website, www.thebradyproject.com, hosts a video of Heather explaining the joys of her pregnancy with Brady and the circumstances of Brady’s tragic death.
“The current laws in Colorado do not go far enough,” continued Surovik. “The law says that Brady wasn’t a person, and as a result, the drunk driver who killed my son was not charged with homicide. Brady was eight pounds, two ounces. Brady was a person – his life was worth defending,” Heather continued.
The amendment was filed today and is expected to be heard by a Legislative Committee Hearing in two weeks.
Twitter: @bradyproject
www.thebradyproject.com
www.personhoodusa.com
Colorado initiative - unborn babies as victims of crime
Moments ago, Colorado HB 1032 introduced by Janak Joshi, was voted down in committee. The bill was completely abortion neutral but pro-aborts couldn't help themselves. They lied and said it was personhood. Even when the committee is stacked with pro-aborts, truth is simply a luxury that abortion advocates can't afford.
Personhood Colorado held a press conference after the committee vote to announce a new personhood initiative. The initiative will recognize in the criminal code that the unborn are persons. Here's the operative language of the citizens' initiative:
IN THE INTEREST OF THE PROTECTION OF PREGNANT MOTHERS AND THEIR UNBORN CHILDREN FROM CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND INJURIES, THE WORDS “PERSON” AND “CHILD” IN THE COLORADO CRIMINAL CODE AND THE COLORADO WRONGFUL DEATH ACT MUST INCLUDE UNBORN HUMAN BEINGS.
Colorado Personhood Coalition Files Suit
The Colorado Personhood Coalition has filed suit in Denver today, after an unjust dismissal by the Secretary of State’s office.
An unsuccessful lawsuit from Planned Parenthood shortened the petitioning time by about 60 days, giving the Colorado Personhood Coalition fewer petitioning days than any other Colorado ballot initiative. In spite of this, the Personhood Coalition collected over 112,000 signatures, about 30,000 more than signatures collected in 2010.
Other initiatives were also granted a 15 day curing period to make up lost or invalidated signatures, which the Colorado Personhood Coalition was denied. After turning in far more than the number of signatures required for ballot placement, the Secretary of State’s office determined that the amendment could not appear on the ballot, discounting over 6,800 registered voters’ signatures.“The Secretary of State’s actions unconstitutionally deprived us of our fundamental right under the State and Federal Constitutions to the initiative process which is core political speech,” explained Gualberto Garcia Jones, J.D., legal analyst for Personhood USA. “After being denied the same timeframe that every other initiative received, and denied the opportunity to appear on the ballot, we have filed a writ of mandamus to ensure that our rights are recognized and the hard work of our volunteers is not dismissed.”
The Colorado Personhood Coalition’s language is different than any other in the nation, addressing a myriad of issues in detail that have never before been explored, including birth control, IVF, miscarriage, and rape.
The full language is available at http://personhoodco.com/amendment-text/.
“Our nearly 1,500 volunteers worked incredibly hard,” commented Susan Sutherland, Director of the Colorado Personhood Coalition. “Despite the odds, we did the work and got the signatures. We deserve to be on the ballot, and we will not quit until every signature is counted and ultimately, every innocent human life is protected in Colorado.”
Colorado Personhood Coalition to Challenge Colorado Secretary of State’s Determination on Personhood Signatures
Denver / August 29, 2012 / The Colorado Personhood Coalition has announced plans to challenge the Colorado Secretary of State’s determination on valid signatures.
The Colorado Secretary of State determined that the Colorado personhood amendment has fallen 3,700 valid signatures short of qualifying for the ballot.
Upon review of the discarded signatures, the Colorado Personhood Coalition has determined that in many cases, entire petitions were discarded despite valid signatures and valid affidavits.
1-40-118 C.R.S. allows 30 days to file a protest. The Colorado Personhood Coalition has engaged election law specialist Shayne Madsen of the Jackson Kelly law firm.
“The law states that we have 30 days to file a challenge, and we fully intend to do so. Based on the Secretary of State’s 5% sample, we are have calculated that we will be able to recover the signatures necessary to appear on the ballot,” explained Gualberto Garcia Jones, J.D., legal analyst for Personhood USA. “This disqualification is by an extremely narrow number, and as we have seen thousands of valid voter signatures discarded unnecessarily, we will be filing a challenge to ensure that every Colorado voter’s voice is heard, and that every signature counts.”
The proposed amendment states “(1) Purpose. In order to affirm basic human dignity, be it resolved that the right to life in this constitution applies equally to all innocent persons. (2) Effect. The intentional killing of any innocent person is prohibited.” The amendment goes on to detail the effects that the amendment will have on issues such as birth control, in vitro fertilization, medical treatment for the mother, and miscarriage. The full text is available at www.personhoodco.com.
Over 100,000 signatures were collected, and petitions were circulated by nearly one thousand five hundred volunteers.
“Other 2012 Colorado ballot initiatives had nearly two months longer than we did to collect signatures,” continued Garcia Jones. “Because of a frivolous lawsuit from our opponents, we were denied the full petitioning time, yet we still collected over 112,000 signatures. After an amazing effort on the part of our volunteers, this narrow disqualification is something that we believe will be reversed. We did the work, we gathered the signatures despite a significant loss of time, and we will fight to ensure that every valid signature is counted.”
Colorado Is At It Again
Early this Month Colorado again proved that it was ready to take a stand for personhood and the protection
of human life. The Colorado Personhood Coalition, led by Susan Sutherland, has gathered enough
signatures from the citizens of Colorado to put a personhood measure before voters. While the Coalition
only needed 86,000 signatures, amazingly, it gathered over 112,000 signatures.
This is the third time since 2008 that a “Personhood Amendment” has been placed before the people
of Colorado. In 2008, Colorado For Equal Rights gathered 103,000 signatures to put a personhood
amendment on that year’s ballot. The ballot initiative lost. In 2010 Personhood Colorado turned in over
95,000 signatures. The measure was defeated again, but the margin was smaller. This year, with far
more signatures than before, we are hoping to turn this around and see the amendment passed.
NO Personhood has vowed that they will work to see the measure defeated in Colorado again this
year. Even if the amendment is defeated, we will not stop moving forward until we see Colorado, and
America, acknowledging the humanity, the “personhood”, of every human life, whether from the
genesis of conception or the very last moments of their natural life. Rosalinda Lozano, a ballot initiative
sponsor said, “Life is precious at every stage of human development.” We heartily agree and are willing
to wrestle with current cultural trends to the end.
Continue to agree with us in prayer that God will move on the citizens of Colorado and the conviction of
culture will change to protect life. Colorado was among the first to legalize abortion. We would love to
see God use her as one of the first to protect the lives of thousands of innocent babies.
Personhood USA to Participate in National Rally Opposing Federal Abortion Drug Mandate
Personhood USA is encouraging their supporters to attend the “Stand Up for Religious Freedom - Stop the HHS Mandate!” rally. The national event was organized as a response to the Obama administration’s decision, requiring all employers, including religiously affiliated organizations holding moral objections, to provide free contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs through their health plans.
The event will take place this Friday, March 23rd in over 130 cities across the United States including Denver, Colorado. Protesters will gather at 11:30am at the Colorado state capitol building. A complete list of locations is available online at http://standupforreligiousfreedom.com/locations/.
In January, under the leadership of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Services Department unveiled a rule, requiring contraception and abortifacients to be covered as part of a list of “preventive services for women” under Obamacare.
After intense political pressure, President Obama backtracked, shifting to require insurance companies to cover the associated costs. The move has been received by the religious institutions as an accounting scheme, allowing insurance companies to pass the costs on to the employers, and ineffectual, as it still requires them to offer services considered immoral.
“Christian hospitals, universities, service organizations and other conscientious objectors should not be forced to offer abortion in their healthcare policies. The 1st Amendment is clear in protecting our religious liberties from government intrusion,” said Keith Mason, President of Personhood USA. “The time has come to stand up to this egregious infringement of governmental authority. We must speak out against to this violation of personal conscience and draw a line in the sand for the sake of the preborn.”
Who: Personhood USA, Personhood Education, & the broad coalition of Pro-religious liberty supporters
What: “Stand Up for Religious Freedom - Stop the HHS Mandate!” Rally and Protest Event
When: Friday, March 23rd, 2012, 11:30am in Denver, Rallies will begin at Noon
Where: Denver, Colorado, West Steps of the State Capitol Building; Complete list of cities available online at http://standupforreligiousfreedom.com/locations/
Personhood USA Comments on House Passage of Colorado Unborn Victims Bill
Preborn children may soon enjoy protection from violent crime in the state of Colorado. On Monday, the Colorado House gave final approval to HB 1130, the state’s proposed fetal homicide law. The bill now heads to the state Senate where Democrats outnumber Republicans 20 to 15.
Opponents argue that the bill would confer, upon the preborn, the status of legal personhood. Meanwhile, supporters counter that the current criminal code is insufficient in charging violent criminals in cases such as Laura Gorham’s. Gorham lost her 34 week old preborn son in a hit-and-run in Denver in late 2010.
35 states currently have a version of the federal Unborn Victims of Violence Act on the books, leaving Colorado as just one of 15 states without such a measure. HB 1130 would apply the current criminal code equally to every member of our species, including preborn children.
“If the commission of any crime codified in this title or Title 42, C.R.S., is the proximate cause of death or injury to an unborn member of the species homo sapiens, the respective homicide and assault charges for that death or injury may be brought contemporaneously with the underlying charges,” it reads.
Personhood USA Legal Analyst Gualberto Garcia Jones, J.D. commented on the developments:
“Federal law and 35 states, including California, protect the preborn from crimes which result in their injury or death, but dogs and cats currently have more legal protections in Colorado than preborn children. And yet, Planned Parenthood is lobbying to block these commonsense protections for preborn children and their families. HB 1130 is abortion-neutral. It is a simple, straightforward statement that gives our elected officials the tools necessary to prosecute violent crimes committed against an expecting mother which results in harm to her child.”
“The Fraternal Order of Police supports HB 1130. The Colorado District Attorneys Council supports HB 1130. But Planned Parenthood, an organization that makes hundreds of millions of dollars from abortion, does not. In lobbying against HB 1130, Planned Parenthood has shown their true colors, demonstrated that they are an extremist organization, and exposed their unwillingness to support justice for the preborn and their mothers who have suffered a terrible loss.”
“The Colorado House has our gratitude and should be congratulated for furthering the cause of equal justice under the law.”
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