Colorado Democrats Defeat Legislation to Ban Abortions

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Feb 5, 2013   |   6:29PM   |   Denver, CO

Democrats on a state legislative committee in Colorado have defeated a measure that would ban abortions there.

Such a measure would almost assuredly be overturned in court, as the Supreme Court currently favors Roe v. Wade and unlimited abortions on at least a 5-4 margin. But that didn’t stop Rep. Stephen Humphrey from floating the bill to make abortions a class 3 felony and punish abortion practitioners in Colorado who do them.

During the voting, one Republican joined six Democrats on the committee to defeat the bill 7-4 and Republican Rep. Kathleen Conti called the measure “too extreme.”

The legislation would have exempted cases where a doctor performed an abortion to prevent the death of the mother and when the unborn baby dies during medical treatment.

In an email to LifeNews, Humphrey talked about his bill.

“The pro-abortion Democrats, and even some Republicans, are outraged because HB13-1033 is a bill that will completely ban the horror of abortion in Colorado,” he said. “We’ve finally reached the point in history where advances in medical science have concluded what our religious and moral beliefs have espoused for thousands of years … from the moment of conception, a beautiful new life is created.”

“We’ve watched for decades as the pro-abortion supporters have tried to distract from this fact,” he added. “From trying to claim an unborn baby is just a blob of cells, to claiming that they’re really “pro-choice” instead of pro-abortion, they have lied to themselves and society. But I’ve determined that I will not stand silently by while the pro-abortion lobby continues to turn our nation into a culture that devalues life.”

“I believe history will judge our society fiercely for the horrors we have carried out against future generations,” he said.

Last week, the Arkansas Senate voted for a bill that would ban virtually all abortions in the state. The measure would ban abortions at the point when a unborn child’s heart starts to beat. At 22 days into pregnancy, before most women know they are pregnant, unborn children complete the development of their heart to the point that a heartbeat begins and the bill would stop abortions at that point.

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Some pro-life groups are not on board with the legislation, not because they oppose banning abortions but out of a concern that it will be struck down in court if passed, potentially giving the Supreme Court the opportunity to entrench Roe further and strike down other pro-life laws. Such groups are working to change the courts so Roe can be overturned and legislation like the Heartbeat bill or others could be approved to provide legal protection for unborn children.