2010 Colorado Amendment 62

Colorado Amendment 62 was an initiated constitutional amendment that appeared on the November 2, 2010 ballot defining personhood as “every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being.” It sought to ban abortion in the state of Colorado and challenge Roe v. Wade.

This was the second time a Personhood amendment appeared on the Colorado ballot. Both initiatives were led by the umbrella organization Personhood USA, and both initiatives failed.

The text, as it appeared on the ballot, read:

"An amendment to the Colorado Constitution applying the term 'person' as used in those provisions of the Colorado Constitution relating to inalienable rights, equality of justice and due process of law, to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being."

Had it been approved, it would have amended Article II of the Colorado Constitution by adding a new section, Section 32, that would read:

"Section 32: Person defined. As used in Sections 3, 6, and 25 of Article II of the state constitution, the term “person” shall apply to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being."[1]

The amendment language was composed by Dianne Irving, a professional biochemist and biologist at Georgetown University.