CO Republican Lawmakers Are Trying to Make Abortion a Felony Again

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by: Madeleine Schmidt

(One election away from disaster – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Rep. Patrick Neville (R).

Every year, Colorado’s most socially conservative lawmakers run an extreme anti-abortion bill that would make abortion illegal under essentially any circumstances. Every year, the bill fails.

This year is no different, so far, despite Colorado voters’ recent rejection of an anti-abortion ballot measure and the legislature’s heavy task of addressing the urgent public health and financial needs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bill, called the Protect Human Life at Conception Act, would define human life as beginning at conception in Colorado law and make it a class 1 felony, punishable by life imprisonment, to perform an abortion under essentially any circumstances. The legislation contains no exceptions for rape, incest, or to preserve the patient’s health, allowing abortion only in cases where it’s necessary to save the patient’s life. Medical and legal professionals have argued that similar “exceptions” for the patient’s life are too vague to provide any meaningful protection for those who may experience life-threatening pregnancy complications.

The legislation is one of the most extreme anti-abortion proposals in the country, but routinely gets a stamp of approval from Republican lawmakers as votes fall among party lines.

The bill’s lead sponsor this year is state Rep. Patrick Neville (R-Castle Rock), who formerly served as the House Minority Leader, and has additional sponsorship from state Reps. Kim Ransom (R-Douglas County), Shane Sandridge (R-Colorado Springs), Kevin Van Winkle (R-Highlands Ranch), and Dave Williams (R-Colorado Springs).

Neville did not respond to a request for comment seeking insight as to why he decided to introduce the ill-fated legislation during a year when Coloradans are facing serious hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic and after voters recently rejected an anti-abortion ballot proposal.

On Nov. 3, Proposition 115 became the fourth anti-abortion ballot initiative to be rejected by Colorado voters in just a 12-year span. The initiative, which would have banned abortion after 22 weeks, lost by 18 percentage points, and even failed in some counties that voted to reelect Donald Trump as president. That includes Douglas County, where Neville’s district is located.

During his floor speech on the first day of the 2021 legislative session Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hugh McKean (R-Loveland) emphasized the need to listen to the will of Colorado voters.

“The conversation in the last election was the latest in a series of questions that give us insight into the minds of the Colorado voters, voters who sent each of us here today,” McKean said. “We have seen for the past several years that voters want to have a say in taxes and fees, less of a burden from income tax and we have seen that they have had a good understanding of the complex relationship between Gallagher and TABOR. We trust our voters and we have an absolute necessity to have our voters trust us.”

McKean didn’t respond to a request for comment seeking to know how he reconciles his party’s push for extreme abortion restrictions with his desire to heed the will of Colorado voters.

This post originally appeared in the Colorado Times Recorder.

14 thoughts on “CO Republican Lawmakers Are Trying to Make Abortion a Felony Again”

Genghis says:

February 19, 2021 at 8:39 am

They really bring the crazy in proposed C.R.S. §18-6-903:

(1) ANY ACT, LAW, TREATY, ORDER, OR REGULATION OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT THAT DENIES OR PROHIBITS PROTECTION OF A HUMAN PERSON'S INALIENABLE RIGHT TO LIFE IS NULL, VOID, AND UNENFORCEABLE IN THIS STATE.

(2) THE COURTS OF THE UNITED STATES HAVE NO JURISDICTION TO INTERFERE WITH COLORADO'S INTEREST IN PROTECTING HUMAN LIFE AT CONCEPTION WHEN HUMAN LIFE BEGINS.

Good luck with that, chief.

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1. spaceman2021 says:
  
  February 19, 2021 at 11:04 am
  
  Okay, clowns. Put this in the criminal code and then say the courts of the United States have no jurisdiction. Hmmm. Too bad Judge Matsch isn't around to handle the constitutional challenge in federal court. I mean, if you're going to do a damn silly thing, at least do it in a way that allows a decent fight in court.
  
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2. JohnInDenver says:
  
  February 19, 2021 at 8:29 pm
  
  So much for that "Constitutional" conservatism.
  
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ParkHill says:

February 19, 2021 at 10:53 am

The purpose is outrage and winding up the christianists.

Got to keep the funding coming in.

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1. Moderatus says:
  
  February 19, 2021 at 9:58 pm
  
  The purpose is having values and not being afraid to live by them.
  
  The left will never understand.
  
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  1. kwtree says:
    
    February 20, 2021 at 7:20 am
    
    Why does “having values” and valuing children’s lives stop when a child takes her first breath?
    
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    1. Samuel L. Clemens says:
      
      February 20, 2021 at 7:48 am
      
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    2. Diogenesdemar says:
      
      February 20, 2021 at 9:04 am
      
      Cuz' most babies live too long — the non 1%ers
      
      All Republican values have very short expiration dates, and are also conveniently disposable . . .
      
      . . . see also: The Other Guy
      
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      1. MichaelBowman says:
        
        February 20, 2021 at 5:49 pm
        
        Meanwhile in Texas AOC is rocking the Lone Star State while Rafael is dizzy from spinning like a top. I'm laying odds 'pro-life' Nutter hasn't donated a dime of his taxpayer largesse to this worthy cause?
        
        We just hit $4 million!
        
        Reps. Sylvia Garcia, Sheila Jackson Lee & Al Green of Houston are doing incredible work w/ local relief organizations to get emergency relief to Texans.
        
        Today we went to food distributions, water delivery sites, and home tours of impacted Texans. pic.twitter.com/5QzIgYvz8L
        
        — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 20, 2021
        
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  2. Diogenesdemar says:
    
    February 20, 2021 at 9:09 am
    
    Q-bie wouldn’t tote your stupid dumb ass to today’s bigly Mar-a-Lago planning meeting/latest insurrection grift, Fluffy?
    
    So sad, what a disappointment . . .
    
    (. . . I mean you, fool, not your not going.)
    
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  3. MichaelBowman says:
    
    February 20, 2021 at 10:37 am
    
    Moddy, you’ll convince me you have values when you start clamoring for Uncle Sam to cut off all foreign aid to Israel until they end what is one of the most liberal abortion laws in the developed world (they also have a kick-ass universal health system).
    
    I’m not going to link it – make Google your friend.
    
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  4. unnamed says:
    
    February 20, 2021 at 11:12 am
    
    You know what I don't understand, nutlid? How your so-called "value" of life ends at birth? Where does it discuss that in the Bible?
    
    BTW, how's your brain doing? Tiny though it is? Did recover from the devastation of Gardner losing? What about The Former Guy? Are you recovered from that. I know it was hard with the uncertainty of your family income getting cut in half. But I guess you landed on your feet with the headline-grabbing moron that needlessly is putting another congressional seat in danger of flipping.
    
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skeptical citizen says:

February 19, 2021 at 11:38 am

Pro-life until birth, then, given their opposition to health care coverage as a right, they become: pro-choice, you suckers.

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1. Matt A. Harry says:
  
  February 20, 2021 at 11:52 am
  
  We need to keep the cannon fodder pipeline flowing.
  
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