Colorado Pro-Life Senate Candidate Defends Against Abortion Attacks

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Apr 21, 2008   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Colorado Pro-Life Senate Candidate Defends Against Abortion Attacks

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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 21
, 2008

Denver, CO (LifeNews.com) — A pro-life Congressman who is a leading candidate for a Senate seat in Colorado is coming under fire from an unusual source — a pro-life group. Members of Colorado Right to Life are attacking Bob Schaffer even though he has a 100 percent pro-life voting record and is taking on a strong abortion advocate.

During his tenure in Congress representing a Denver-area Congressional district, Schaffer compiled a sterling pro-life voting record.

He voted repeatedly to stop taxpayer funding of abortion, supported parental notification laws, voted to ban partial-birth abortions and voted to ban both forms of human cloning.

But officials with Colorado Right to Life, which upset pro-life advocates last year with attacks on Focus on the Family, National Right to Life and other pro-life groups, claims Schaffer isn’t sufficiently pro-life.

CRTL spokesman Steve Curtis claimed Schaffer looked the other way at forced abortions in the Northern Mariana islands, an American territory.

Schaffer, who investigated the forced abortion claims in a visit to the islands, told the Denver Post Curtis is off base.

"I absolutely did not look the other way on this issue," Schaffer said.

He told the newspaper he interviewed dozens of people about potential forced abortions there and met with local pro-life advocates and religious leaders to get a complete overview of the situation.

Schaffer said he found the allegations "credible" but, during his visit, couldn’t find one person who could provide him tangible evidence on which he could take further action.

"In five days, I did not observe a forced abortion or meet anybody who had any knowledge of them," he said.

Other pro-life advocates in Colorado are worried CRTL’s attacks will hurt Schaffer’s candidacy and could pave the way for the leading Democrat, pro-abortion Rep. Mo Udall, to capture a seat previously held by a pro-life senator.

Jim Pfaff, the president of Colorado Family Action, talked with LifeNews.com about the attacks on Schaffer’s pro-life credentials.

“It is absurd for anyone to make the claim that Bob Schaffer is not pro-life," he said.

"He has one of the most consistent pro-life voting records among his peers whenever he has been in elective office. And more than that, he is a strong advocate for protecting the unborn and those needing protection at the end of life," he added.

Pfaff said he’s concerned that Colorado Right to Life, which is no longer affiliated with National Right to Life after repeated attacks on pro-life groups and legislation, is dividing the pro-life community in the mountain state.

CRTL earlier drew the ire of pro-life groups earlier this year when it appeared at the state legislature and opposed a bill to reduce abortions that would allow women to see an ultrasound of their baby beforehand.

When used in pregnancy centers, ultrasounds have convinced most women to keep their baby rather than have an abortion.

"Anyone who has observed legislative action in Colorado and the United States Congress knows that Bob Schaffer is consistent in his stand that life should be protected from conception to natural death," Pfaff concluded.

Connie Pratt, president of Colorado Citizens for Life, which is the NRLC affiliate in the state, also defended Schaffer.

"It is objectively untrue and simply irrational to argue, as some are apparently doing, that Schaffer is not sufficiently pro-life," she said.

Related web sites:
Colorado Family Action – https://www.cofamily.org