Constitutional Initiative 100 defines a person as “a human being at all stages of human development or life, including the state of fertilization,” essentially saying that life begins at conception.
If CI-100 is placed on the November 2008 ballot and is approved by voters, it likely would compel the state Legislature to outlaw abortion, says its author and chief supporter, state Rep. Rick Jore of Ronan.
“I think we're going to have a lot of volunteers, as individuals, regardless of the organizations or associations that officially jump on,” he said, such as members of evangelical churches and Catholics.
The other measure ready for signature-gathering is Constitutional Initiative 99, which would limit increases in residential property taxes to 1.5 percent a year.
CI-99 also would create an “acquisition-value” system of appraising homes for tax purposes, reappraising them only when they are sold to a new owner. The new value would be the purchase price or the assessed value, whichever is greater.
Each measure needs the signatures of 44,615 registered voters to qualify for the ballot, including signatures of at least 10 percent of the registered voters in at least 40 of Montana's 100 state House districts.
Supporters have until June 20 to turn in signatures on the two measures.
John McMenamin of Kalispell, chief organizer for CI-99, said he thinks he has “a better than excellent” chance of qualifying the measure for the ballot.
“Based on the reaction I've received at this point, I don't see any problem at all in gathering the 45,000 signatures,” he said.
McMenamin said he's established a Web site where people can download petitions and start gathering signatures.
Supporters of CI-100, the anti-abortion measure, have formed a ballot committee, Life for Montana, that will coordinate the campaign for the measure, Jore said.
CI-100 also has organized opposition, led by a coalition of civil- and reproductive-rights groups.
The Montana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is opposing CI-100, as is Planned Parenthood of Montana, NARAL Pro-Choice Montana and the Montana Human Rights Network.
Betsy Griffing, legal director for the Montana ACLU and a law professor at the University of Montana, said giving a human embryo the status of personhood and a “paramount” right to life would “wreak havoc with Montana's constitution,” essentially allowing the Legislature to amend other parts of the constitution.
Allyson Hagen, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Montana, said the measure tramples Montana's constitutional right to privacy and enables politicians to make “private medical decisions regarding women's health.”
Jore said opponents of CI-100 speak only about the privacy rights of the woman and not the child in the womb.
“Our approach goes right to the heart of this debate: Are we dealing with human life, or are we not?” Jore said. “If (an embryo) is indeed human life, which I strongly believe it is, then arguments on privacy, health care, et cetera, need to be focused on and in the context of two lives.”
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