Tim Tebow's Mom Endorses Colo. Personhood Amendment
The mother of celebrated NFL rookie quarterback Tim Tebow is encouraging Colorado voters to say "yes" to a proposed Colorado amendment that would define a "person" in the state to include "every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being."
"A child's right to life begins at conception, not at birth," states Pam Tebow in her endorsement of the Colorado Fetal Personhood Amendment (62).
"From conception, all children are people, made in the image and likeness of God," the mother of five adds. "Thus, I support the Personhood amendment and appeal to Colorado voters to vote 'yes' on amendment 62."
This year, for the second time, Colorado voters will be faced with the question of personhood on the statewide ballot. The first time such a measure reached the voters was in 2008, when the Colorado Definition of Person Initiative sought to define a person as "any human being from the moment of fertilization."
The 2008 measure, which was defeated 73 percent to 27 percent, had been criticized for its potential to not only make abortion illegal but also to outlaw certain methods of birth control that focus on interfering with the implantation of a fertilized egg.
Having learned from 2008, the groups supporting the 2010 effort – Colorado Right to Life and Personhood USA – are more optimistic this time around as this year's effort is better funded, backs a measure that's more accurately worded, and has spokespeople more experienced than those in 2008.
And Pam Tebow, the latest to endorse the amendment, is undoubtedly a woman with experience.
When Pam was pregnant with Tim at the age of 37, she was told by a doctor in the Philippines town where she and her husband were missionaries that she had to abort the "mass of fetal tissue" immediately in order to save her own life.
"She (the doctor) said he was a tumor," Pam recalled.
But the Tebows were adamant about keeping "Timmy," whom they had been praying for even before conception. Despite the risk, Pam carried the pregnancy to term and gave birth to Timothy Richard Tebow in August 1987.
"Pam Tebow had the courage and conviction to choose life, despite desperate circumstances," commented Keith Mason, manager of the Yes on 62 Campaign. "Parents facing difficult pregnancies should realize that the child in their womb is a person, just as Pam Tebow realized her son's humanity, value, and dignity while he was in the womb. He is just as much of a person today as he was when the doctor advised that he be aborted."
Adding to that, Amendment 62 cosponsor Leslie Hanks said Pam's testimony "serves as an inspiration to women in difficult pregnancies."
"Although it was challenging, Pam did the right thing, and the world is a better place for it," Hanks added. "Likewise, Colorado's 'Yes' vote on Amendment 62 is the right thing for Colorado. Amendment 62 will ensure that Colorado is a better, safer place for women and for preborn babies."
While Tim Tebow has had little playing time since joining the Denver Broncos this year, he is, as Denver Post columnist Woody Paige noted, "the most celebrated fourth-string rookie quarterback in NFL history."
Before joining the NFL, Tebow was one of the nation's top college football players and helped the University of Florida win college football's national championship game in 2007 and 2009. During the 2007 season, he also became the first college football player to both rush and pass for twenty or more touchdowns in a single season and the first college sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy.
Notably, however, Tebow has yet to throw an NFL pass six weeks into the season and only scored his first professional career touchdown this past Sunday on a run five yards from the goal line. The Broncos' starting quarterback, Kyle Orton, has been one of the best NFL quarterbacks this season.
Still, since being drafted, Tebow has had the best-selling jersey in the entire NFL each month.