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Prayer as teen led to campaign for unborn

Woman says she got the message, 'Save these people'

By Lisa Ryckman, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 24, 2007 at 12:30 a.m.

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Kristi Burton, 20, of Peyton, heads the group Colorado for Equal Rights that wants a constitutional amendment defining a fertilized egg as a person.

Photo by Kevin Kreck © The Gazette

Kristi Burton, 20, of Peyton, heads the group Colorado for Equal Rights that wants a constitutional amendment defining a fertilized egg as a person.

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Kristi Burton was just 13 when she asked God for guidance and got it.

"I was praying, what could I do to help people?" Burton said, thinking back on that December day, sick in bed and looking through library books about community service.

"And I really think God brought that to my mind and said, 'Save these people.' "

Unborn people, she means.

Seven years later, that's what Burton hopes to do, by amending the Colorado Constitution to define a fertilized egg as a person entitled to legal protection - a concept that has the potential to outlaw abortion.

As the head of the group Colorado for Equal Rights, this young woman from rural Peyton faces a very big job, but she figures she's got God and determination on her side.

"I think people are kind of interested that someone so young has a passion like this," said Burton, who was home-schooled by her parents, Michael and Debra. "People 18 to 25, a lot of those people are leaning more toward the pro-life side. Me and lot of my friends want to do what we can to create a culture of life."

Burton said as a 13-year-old, she followed the 2000 election closely and was upset when Colorado voters rejected Amendment 25, a measure to delay abortions 24 hours while women reviewed information on medical risks and other options.

She said she knows that not all her friends share her beliefs, but she credits her mom with teaching her how to love everyone.

"We don't hate the other side," Burton said. "Her and I both know friends who have had abortions.

"My relatives have had abortions. We've seen how hurt those women are and how they regret it."

Right now, Burton attends an online law school, although she has no plans to practice law.

She sees her calling in public policy.

"I want to take the bar exam, but I'm a little more interested in the political side of things," said Burton, who likes to cook or scrapbook or skate with her two younger brothers when she's not studying or strategizing.

"I want to lay a foundation to protect all human life."

Comments

  • November 24, 2007

    10:39 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Freethinker writes:

    Its unfortunate and concerning that the Rocky editors found this an acceptable news story. In summary, it showcases a teenager who has the audacity to claim moral political leadership becaue she claims god told her that he wants her to save the unborns. How quaint.

    Did Lisa Ryckman bother to investigate that miraculous communication from beyond? Isn't this the same inspirational source that's been oft cited by people who've committed crimes against humanity? Whenever someone claims to hear voices telling them to take action, doesn't that qualify them as hallucinatory?

    If nothing else, this flimsy piece of journalism sparked my interest in where Ms. Burton developed her passion to impose her moral judgments on others. Perhaps it came from her parents via homeschooling? or has she been attending a Colorado Springs-based conservative institution that is grooming her and other like minded sheep to push this type of agenda into the political scene? Those are the types of questions I'd really like to see the Rocky journalists explore.

    I'm not too concerned that the constitutional amendment she is working to push forward will ever pass. I remain hopeful that the majority of our population recognizes the importance of sustaining separation of church and state. I also remain hopeful that our world will slowly rid itself of institutions that exploit ancient myths to sustain their powerbase.

    Its fine that Ms. Burton has feelings about abortion but its not fine that she or her contingency seek to apply misguided beliefs on a society that is better served by rational, fact-based governance and not the hallucinations of a teenager.

  • November 24, 2007

    4:50 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Old_Timer writes:

    I'm neutral about Freethinker's comments, although I generally agree, but as the son of an English teacher, I am appalled at the disgraceful use of the language by this home-schooled young lady. Apparently Michael and Debra didn't include English in her home curriculum. "Me and a lot of my friends want to..." is bad enough, but "Her and I both know..." is worse. Miss Burton, your message might be better received if you didn't offend your listeners with your atrocious grammer.

  • November 24, 2007

    6:53 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    JimBarrie writes:

    It’s amusing (to me) that some alleged freethinking person while using an assumed name mocks and expresses disapproval of almost every aspect of this article.

    This alleged ‘thinker’ made numerous non-constructive critical judgments about this article and found fault with; Rocky editors, teenagers with audacity, moral political leadership, god, unborns, Lisa Ryckman’s failure as an ‘Inquisitor’, communication from beyond (I.e. God), flimsy journalism, Ms. Burton’s passion and morals, her parents, home schooling, conservative institutions, sheep, constitutional amendments, those that don’t recognize the importance of sustaining separation of church and state, and institutions that exploit ancient myths, etc., etc. He/she seems to have no joy.

    ‘The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.’ To quote an ancient author.

    I applaud Kristi Burton for her passion, and commitment to helping those who are unable to vote or defend themselves.

  • November 26, 2007

    11:04 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Freethinker writes:

    Non-constructive? I'll try to be clear. When people use media to bolster a political agenda that is based upon a religious view and base their moral correctness of that view on being told something during prayer, I have every right to express disappointment in the lack of critical process applied by a journalist.

    I said nothing about there not being a god. Its impossible to prove or disprove such an existence. What I am clear about is that religion has been used throughout history by the powerful to maintain power. Its what the roman empire did some 300 years after Christ died. They stole his "brand name", combined it with some existing pagan rituals, symbols and holidays and built a new religion for their empire to unite behind. Feel free to conduct your own investigative research into this from unbiased sources. And by the way, have a happy winter solstice.

    Yes I use criticism but its only because this is just one of too many examples where religious institutions in our country push their influence into a political debate, effectively drowning out rationale discourse about the true societal gains and costs of a behavior or act. How can something (be it abortion, gambling, drug laws or anything else) be debated rationally when one side starts the dialogue by claiming correctness based on guidance received during prayer.

    While the act of abortion is difficult to defend as humane, statistics have shown a high correlation between legalized abortion and reduced crime. The economics essay in the novel "Freakonomics" describes the data for this hypothesis. By no means would I advocate abortion but to retard eduction around birth control and related options (as advocated by Ms. Burton) appears to be a greater crime than terminating a pregnancy (because it ignores the root cause and attacks only symptoms). If we as a society invested in greater education and pregnancy prevention methods, the demand for abortion would likely diminish. It's not a silver bullet but its the right principle to base political direction.

    Which is the more effective battle to win for the betterment of our society? Reducing the number of situations which lead to an undesireable behavior or artificially limiting the legality of it?

  • May 4, 2008

    6:54 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    TeacherTalk writes:

    I agree that abortion is an "undesirable behavior" and "difficult to defend as humane."

    As a teacher, I see a lot of undesirable behavior every day, and I can tell you that "greater education" does not stop human beings from doing what they really want to do in a given moment, whether that is talking in class or having sex irresponsibly. Human beings learn responsibility through experiencing the consequences of their actions.

    Pregnancy is not a "symptom" of too little education. It is a consequence of an action. Abortion--taking the life* that resulted from an irresponsible action--is adding a second irresponsible action to the first. Two wrongs do not make a right.

    The Personhood Amendment would protect the innocent from harm while encouraging proper responsibility in dealing with the consequences of one's actions. What better "societal gains" could there be?

    Ms. Burton does not claim that the "moral correctness" of her view came from "guidance received during prayer" but that the specific directive to save unborn babies did. If there is a God who creates all life, obviously He would expect us to respect it. That is not a view that comes from "hallucinations" or hearing "voices" but from common sense reasoning.

    Whether or not this plan is an effective way to "help people," as Ms. Burton wants to do, remains to be seen. From a teacher's perspective, protecting innocent life and encouraging responsibility are definite ways to contribute to "the betterment of our society." I believe we can indeed have "rational discourse" over that.

    * I understand any scientist can tell you that life begins at fertilization.