Colorado Pro-Life Ballot Measure Failure: Lessons from Lincoln-Douglas Debate over Slavery

Colorado voters have rejected a ballot measure that would have prohibited abortion after five-and-a-half months of pregnancy.

Thanks to advancements in medical technology, unborn children at this stage of development increasingly are able to survive outside the womb when born premature. The survival rate rises sharply when a child is delivered just one or two weeks later. At five-and-a-half months’ gestation, the fetus is the size of a papaya and has begun to grow eyebrows and hair. Just one week later, she develops the ridges that anchor fingerprints and footprints.

About the Author

Alexandra DeSanctis

Alexandra DeSanctis is a contributing writer at National Review.

Featured Tags

Colorado voters have rejected a ballot measure that would have prohibited abortion after five-and-a-half months of pregnancy.

Thanks to advancements in medical technology, unborn children at this stage of development increasingly are able to survive outside the womb when born premature. The survival rate rises sharply when a child is delivered just one or two weeks later. At five-and-a-half months’ gestation, the fetus is the size of a papaya and has begun to grow eyebrows and hair. Just one week later, she develops the ridges that anchor fingerprints and footprints.