The Washington Post reported this week that a new attempt by Colorado “personhood” supporters takes a different tack than proponents have taken in the past. Amendments to Colorado state law attempting to define a fetus as a person is nothing new, but a young pregnant woman whose fetus was killed by a drunk driver has a different focus, and it’s gaining support of the “personhood” backers.
Heather Surovik was leaving her last prenatal doctor’s appointment when a drunk driver hit her car, and although Surovik herself was not seriously injured, the incident resulted in a miscarriage. Her unborn child, whom she had named Brady, weighed a little over eight pounds. The driver was charged with felony drunk driving, but not with anything connected to the child’s death. “I was told that because my son did not take a breath, he was not considered a person,” Surovik told NBC. “He was considered part of my injuries—a loss of a pregnancy.”
Surovik is now pushing to amend the state constitution to include crimes against the unborn in the Colorado criminal code. Supporters of the amendment, called Amendment 67 or the Brady Amendment, say it has nothing to do with abortion. “Amendment 67 corrects the loophole in Colorado law and ensures that those criminals can be charged with killing a child in many different scenarios, whereas previous personhood amendments didn’t address the criminal code,” said Jennifer Mason, a spokeswoman with PersonhoodUSA.
Thirty-eight states have laws regarding fetuses killed in violent acts against pregnant women. Twice before, in 2008 and 2010, Colorado voters have shot down personhood amendments on the ballot. Colorado passed a law in the spring of 2013 called the Crimes Against Pregnant Women Act, which establishes a new set of crimes against pregnant women, including “unlawful termination of pregnancy” and “vehicular unlawful termination of pregnancy.”
But Surovik says the law doesn’t go far enough. “It doesn’t recognize the two victims,” she explained. “If Brady had been in the accident at just one hour old, it would have been murder.”
Colorado citizens will vote on the amendment on the upcoming November ballot.
