Review and Comment Hearing for Initiative #226
Backers of a fetal-personhood ballot measure, Initiative #226, faced sharp legal questions at a review-and-comment hearing, with legislative staff warning the language collides with Colorado's constitutional right to abortion — a conflict the proponents conceded on the record and admitted they had not worked through for families using IVF.
Key Actions
Notable Quotes
“But Section 32 talks about the right to an abortion. With what you're trying to do here, you are preserving the right to life without due process of law which is available to all living human beings. That seems to be at odds if you have the right to end a pregnancy or in this case, if the terms are equally defined, a human life that seems to be at odds with due process of what you're trying to say here.”
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Sign in to subscribeI hereby call to order the review and comment hearing for the proposed initiative. Measure number 226 concerning a living human being's right to life from the time of conception Ballot Proposal Today is Thursday, February 5, 2026 and the time is 1pm My name is Gerard Brown, Research analyst with Legislative Council Staff. And now we'll go around and identify ourselves with the record. My name is Chelsea Princel. I am a staff attorney with the Office of Legislative Legal Services. My name is Mark Landis. I'm the pastor of Norwood Bible Church in Colorado Springs. I'm Dr. Sean Cole. I'm the lead pastor of Emanuel Baptist Church in Sterling, Colorado and an adjunct instructor at Colorado Christian University. Colorado Law requires requires the directors of the Colorado Legislative Council staff and the Office of Legislative Legal Services to review and comment on initiative petitions for proposed laws and amendments to the Colorado Constitution. The purpose of the review and comment requirement is to help proponents arrive at language that will accomplish their intent and to avail the public of knowledge of the contents of the proposal. As representatives of the of Legislative Legal Counsel staff and the Office…
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