The Denver City Council issued a proclamation Monday opposed to Amendment 48, which would define a person, for purposes of state constitutional protections, as “any human being from the moment of fertilization.”
Councilwoman Carol Boigon, who pushed the proclamation, said the ballot issue would create havoc and would have the unintended consequence of making it impossible for a couple to get fertility treatment.
“What happens in the case of a rape?” Boigon also asked. “Would this protection for the fertilized egg prevent that woman from receiving services from Denver hospital?”
The council supported her effort with a nine-vote majority.
Council members Charlie Brown and Jeanne Faatz abstained, not because they support the amendment, they said, but because they believed the council meeting was not the proper venue to express opposition.
Council members Marcia Johnson and Rick Garcia were absent.
