Healthy, late-term unborn babies capable of surviving outside the womb can still be aborted for any reason in Colorado after voters rejected a ballot measure Tuesday that would have banned late-term abortions.
WTMA 1250 News Talk reports Proposition 115 failed to pass in a 41 percent to 59 percent vote, with 85 percent of votes reported.
Colorado is one of the few states with no limits on abortions, and abortionists there openly advertise abortions in the third trimester. The ballot measure would have protected viable, pain-capable unborn babies by banning late-term abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy. It would have allowed exceptions if the mother’s life is at risk.
The Hill reports pro-abortion groups vastly outraised pro-life organizations in their efforts to defeat the measure, spending $9 million compared to a little more than $500,000. Unlike with the grassroots pro-life groups, much of the pro-abortion groups’ money came from donors outside the state, according to The Colorado Sun.
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Colorado is very liberal politically and pro-life advocates have had a difficult time passing pro-life laws there. Even fetal homicide laws to punish criminals who kill unborn babies in situations unrelated to abortion have been rejected repeatedly by the state legislature.
Pro-lifers had hoped that a 22-week abortion limit would gain the support of moderate voters who do not think abortions should be outlawed but do support modest restrictions. Polls consistently show that most Americans oppose late-term abortions after a baby is viable.
Doctors and scientists supported Proposition 115, too, citing evidence of the value and humanity of unborn babies. They said premature babies born at 22 weeks are surviving, and their survival rates are growing. At some hospitals in the U.S., their survival rate is 70 percent, they said.
“As healthcare professionals we are totally aware of the science of human development. The humanity of a 22-week fetus is apparent to each of us. There can be no doubt that the 22-week fetus is fully alive and fully human,” they wrote in an open letter in September.
Abortion lobbyists admit that most late-term abortions are done on healthy mothers carrying healthy babies. According to research by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, “most women seeking later terminations are not doing so for reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment.”
If it had passed, the ballot measure could have saved thousands of babies’ lives. Colorado reported 171 abortions at 21 weeks or later in 2019, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. However, a department official admitted that the number is almost certainly an under-count, and pro-lifers estimate the number is closer to 300.
